Survive or die
by Piper'stemper
Summary: Prue, Piper, Phoebe and Paige find themselves given an ultimatum by an elder. They need to reconnect to each other as they have drifted apart in order to survive. Will they, are will they die in the process? takes place after S8...
1. Chapter 1

A/N:

Hello everyone. I was watching some survival shows lately, don't asks I got bored at work. Anyway I came up with a story idea. All four sisters are included and this takes place after season eight. They all have kids but this will not have their children or their husbands in it. It would just be about sisters and reconnecting to each other in a very hostile environment. Prue never died after season three and they did find Paige. Prue is married to Andy.

Summary:

Prue, Piper, Phoebe and Paige find themselves in the Amazon and are given an ultimatum by an elder. They need to reconnect to each other as they have drifted apart in order to survive. Will they, are will they die in the process?

Survive or die

Chapter 1

Dam Elders

The four sisters found themselves standing in a circle surrounded by thick vegetation and unbelievable heat and humidity. They all looked at each other stunned as they looked around their surroundings.

"Ok who did a spell?" Piper asks breaking the silence with her hands on her hips.

"Nice outfit sis," Phoebe replied as she looked at her older sister, who was wearing cargo pants and a dark long-sleeved shirt with black hiking boots. She had machete hoister around her waist and the bottom part was tied with black thick thread around the upper part of her knee. Piper looked down at herself and was now more confused than ever.

"I did not put this on," she said and looked at her other sisters who were dressed the same. They all looked at themselves and started to get a bad feeling.

"I don't like just appearing someplace with new clothes on that I would never wear outside the house," Paige chimed in.

"I like it," Prue said as she liked the kick ass attire.

"Seriously did someone do a spell?" Piper asks again as a man in a robe orbed into the center of them.

"Hello charmed ones," he said as they moved together so they could face him.

"You have to be kidding me," Phoebe said as she was starting to get the gist of what was going on.

"You have grown apart and are losing your very important connection to each other," he said.

"No we are not and what makes you think you can just take us out of our homes and dump us here, where is here anyway?" Piper asks.

"The Amazon," he replied.

"Come again?" Paige asks while leaning forward a little and aiming her ear towards him hoping she misheard him.

"It will take all of you to survive and you will need to work together to do so. Each one if you have skills that will thrive here but you need to trust each other and regain that connection," he replied.

"Like I told you we are fine," Piper said.

"When was the last time you have them over for dinner?" he asks.

"We are all kind of busy, you know with kids and our own life's and it's not like I don't invite them, they are just too busy and I understand," Piper replied.

"When was the last time you just sat down and talked," he said while looking at Prue.

"Like Piper said we are busy but that doesn't mean we don't love each other," Prue replied getting angry herself.

"What gives you courage and strength is your connection to each other and although you still speak to each other you don't spend quality time. And if left untreated it will break you as demons will take advantage of it," he said.

"So what couldn't get reservations in Hawaii?" Piper asks sarcastically.

"The Amazon is a dangerous place, your adversary will not be a demon but the very environment itself," he replied.

"Screw this," Paige said and tried to orb. She opened her eyes and realizes she was still in the same place. "Wait you took our powers?" she asks in disbelief.

"Yes it's not your powers that make you strong, it's your connection with each other and your inner selves," he replied as Piper was trying to blast a tree and found that her power was gone too.

"You could have just pop in and say, hay guys have a long dinner?" Phoebe asks using her hands to give herself more expression.

"Now what would be the point in that, like I said each one of you possess skill that will help you survive and get to your destination. Use them wisely and your family has been made aware of the situation they cannot assist.

"You can't just take me away from my family!" Piper said angrily as she moved towards him. Prue put her hand on Pipers wrist to keep her from doing something stupid.

"This is not punishment this is for the greater good Piper and you will need to understand that,"

"So how do we get out of here?" Prue asks getting to the point quickly.

"There is a river and once you find it you will need to find civilization. At that point the elders will discuss if you truly have learned to reconnect; if you have then you will be returned to your families if not then another task will need to be created. There is another option. You can make it to a beacon that can only be seen at night and once broken it will return you home. You will need to make a decision on which way to go as a group," he replied and orbed away.

"This is ridiculous," Piper said while running her hand through her hair and sat down on a log.

"I had plans tonight," Phoebe said as she looked up through the thick canopy and could barely see daylight.

"We need to make a choice," Prue said as she pulled out her machete and looked at it sharp blade.

"We can only see the beacon at night, so we will need to wait for night fall," Phoebe said as she dug around in her pockets and found a small knife that was connected to a flint by a small chain.

"Does anyone have any idea what time it is?" Paige asks as she looked at her wrist and could see no wristwatch.

"Nope," Prue replied as they all did the same.

"I don't even like to go camping, I have no idea what to do here," Piper said as she was digging around her pockets as well but they were empty.

"Okay guys we can fight this or get out of it, but we need to make a decision," Prue said while looking around her surroundings. There steep inclines and she could only see a few feet through the thick overgrowth as sweat was already starting to be on her forehead.

"Beacon," Piper said first.

"River," Paige said.

"River," Phoebe said.

"I think we should go for the beacon as it may be a faster way of getting out of here," Prue finished.

"Ok but that means we need to wait until nightfall and during the day we could get off track. If we went to the river we could follow it and there may be boats on it," Paige said.

"Yes but the elder said that even if we make it to civilization they may not send us back," Prue said while still trying to find some kind of path.

"Why don't we set up camp for tonight and think about again tomorrow morning," she continued and started looking for wood to start a fire. Everything was soaked or rotten from what she could tell and starting a fire may not be a possibility.

"I have this," Phoebe said and showed Prue what she found in her pocket.

"Good that will help but all of this wood is soaked from the rain and I have no idea what to use for a starter," Prue said holding a waterlogged branch in her hand.

"Well if I had my cell phone I could just look it up, oh wait I don't," Paige said and threw her hands in the air.

"Do you think he's right?" Piper asks while playing with her pockets on the side of her pants. Prue decided to take a seat next to her on the log.

"Yeah I do, we have grown apart for a while now," Prue replied and hated the fact that the elder was correct on the situation.

"It's not like we meant to, we all have families and jobs it's kind of hard to just hang out," Piper said while looking down.

"I know but maybe this is what we needed," Prue said and got an uncertain look from Piper.

"I forgot you like camping," Piper said and could not help but smile.

"Not the Amazon Piper and I did it with Andy and that was a long time ago," Prue said.

"So room services out?" Paige said and folded her arms as she too was beginning to sweat heavily. Everyone got a good chuckle but the realization was they were stuck in the Amazon and need water, food and shelter.

"Okay first we need to get off the ground because I don't want to be lying on it at night. Second we need a fire to dry out your feet because I don't want to get trench foot and 3rd we need food," Prue said and got up from the log.

"What the hell is trench foot?" Phoebe asks while wrinkling her face.

"Moisture can lead to tissue breakdown and leave feet vulnerable to fungus and other infections," Paige replied and Prue raised her eyebrow.

"That's it," Prue said and gave her baby sister a smile.

"I know a few things or two about this place, animal planet the kids love it," Paige said proudly.

"Are there big spiders here?" Piper asks nervously.

"Oh yeah the ones as big as a dinner plate," Paige replied while bobbing her head up and down and then remembered how much Piper hated spiders," Sorry." She said and Piper looked wide-eyed at her with her mouth agape.

"Yeah we need to get off the ground," Piper said as the thought of something the size of a dinner plate walking on her at night was a nightmare come to life.

"We stay together, never go anywhere alone, Phoebe you come with me and Piper you and Paige start cutting down some branches we can use as a platform," Prue said taking the lead as she was the oldest.

"Just out of curiosity how much do you remember when you went camping?" Phoebe asks.

"Actually a lot, Andy is really into it and we only take bare essentials when we did it. But to be honest I don't know how to survive here this place is brutal. He told me one time that he tried to do an expedition with a few friends here and they only made a few days before calling for help. And he was very good at survival but this place kicked his ass," Prue replied and now she could see the worried looks on her sister's faces. They always have their powers to get them out of most situations but now they were powerless against the immense force of the rain forest.

"Was that supposed to instill confidence because right now you're sucking in the morale department," Piper said and stood from the log.

"I'm just trying to make it clear to you guys that this is not a walk in the park. Don't step in any holes and be careful where you put your hands when walking. There are a lot of poisonous things here that blend into their environment. Make sure if you have a cut that you tells us immediately because within a few hours it could become infected," she continued and now the realization was hitting them hard as they began to look at every tree around them and anything that might be moving.

"We need to get started because I don't know how much light we have left," Piper said and pulled out her machete from its holder," Ready Missy Paige?" Piper asks and Paige pulled hers out.

"Dam I was hoping mine was bigger," she said while comparing her machete to Piper's.

"Don't go far and stay within ear shout," Prue said as she started hacking away at some braches with Phoebe behind her. Piper and Paige went the other way and started looking for strong enough braches to build their platform.

"Hay we can use these vines to tie up the branches," Paige said and grabbed what she thought was a vine.

"Paige that's not a vine," Piper said as she pointed with a shaking finger and the pupils of her eyes were large. Paige looked at what her hand had a hold of and that moment is started to move, she immediately threw it to the side and started shaking her hands.

"Oh god what was that, what was that?" she said while doing a small dance like her feet was on fire.

"A snake," Piper replied and used her machete to start whacking on it, "Die, die!" she yelled while going to town on the little green snake. Paige finally calm herself down and check for any bites, when she did not see any she pulled Piper away from the now mutilated snake.

"Its dead Piper," Paige said and they were both breathing heavily.

"Are you ok?" Piper asks as she looked over her sisters hands.

"No I just wet myself," she replied but Piper was too busy checking for small punctures. "I'm ok, it didn't bite me," she replied and then slapped at her sister's hand. 'Stop it, I'm fine you nervous Nellie."

"Well we are off to a good start," Piper said and looked at what was left of the snake. She picked it up and gave a weak smile. "Look we found dinner," she said and Paige just wrinkled her nose.

"I want steak," Paige said and Piper just rolled her eyes and put the green snake around her neck. It was only about 3 feet long and was not very thick but it will do for now.

Prue and Phoebe stopped what they were doing as they heard someone yelling die and looked at each other for a moment and waited for some other sounds.

"Was that Piper?" Phoebe asks and Prue did not reply as she continued listening.

"I don't know, do you think we should go back?" she asks.

"I don't hear anything now so maybe it was just our ears playing tricks," she said and Prue started looking at the trees around them. "Everything is soaked how the hell are we going to make a fire?"

"There has to be something here we can use Prue, I mean people do live here not a lot and not by their own free will for the most part but they do," Phoebe replied and then Prue got a look at what looked like a pine cone inside a hole in a tree.

"Wait I remember this," she said and pulled out the pine cone looking thing," I think there is a cotton like substance in here that stays dry. "She said and gently opened the small hard shell.

"What are you an Amazon McIver?" Phoebe asks while she watched Prue opened it up.

"No and trust me, we just got lucky that Andy brought some of these home from his trip as a keepsake," she replied.

"You know some people bring home postcards," Phoebe said as Prue finally got it open and smiled when she touched the soft and dry padding inside.

"We need to keep this dry, here put this in your pants pocket," Prue said and handed it to her as she grabs some more.

"What is it called?" Phoebe asks while stuffing her pants pocket.

"I can't remember but it will be a good starter," she replied and after grabbing enough she started looking for dry wood.

Piper and Paige returned to the opening they were at before and tossed down what they had in their arms. Vines and some long branches that they carried together. Piper bent down and was breathing heavily and so was Paige.

"God I need to work out more," Piper said while wiping her brow.

"Tell me about it but I never thought I would be stuck here," Paige said as Prue and Phoebe walked out of the forest carrying some small branches and some larger ones.

"Was that you screaming?" Phoebe asks while looking at Piper.

"Oh the die thing, yeah," she replied and stood up straight with her hands on her hips and the snake around her neck.

"Piper don't move you have something around your neck," Phoebe said as she lifted her machete.

"Its dead and put that down before you poke an eye out," Piper said as she took the snake off from around her neck that was missing its head.

"I thought it was a vine," Paige said with a snort but Prue was not amused.

"That's what I'm talking about dammit you guys you need to pay attention to everything," she said and dropped what she was holding on the pile.

"Sorry it's my first time looking for vines in the Amazon," Paige snapped back.

"I understand that Paige but you could have been bit, and its not like we can just orb home and you heal yourself," Prue said as she looked at what they brought," We are going to need much larger branches, that will not support our weight."

"I'm sorry were not living up to your standards of survival Prue, but we are thirsty and have no idea what we are doing," Piper also snapped back.

"Fine I don't want to argue but we need bigger branches unless you want to sleep on the ground," Prue said and knew that none of them wanted to do that and it would be a good motivator.

"Come on Piper apparently we did it wrong," Paige said and they headed back out again as Piper put the snake on the pile," Oh I got dinner," she said while disappearing into the forest.

"We have to eat that?" Phoebe asks.

"Well at least they did something right," Prue said and started looking for a way to support the platform. She found two trees that were about 10 feet apart from each other and had a lot of lower branches that they could place the bigger ones on and spam them a crossed. "Phoebe help me with this," she said and Phoebe helped her put a long thick branch on one tree and wedge it into a split off as Phoebe did the same to her side.

"Prue you don't think they will let anything happened to us, do you?" Phoebe asks while using the vine that Paige got to tie her end to the tree.

"I don't know Phoebe but I would not count on it," Prue replied as she finished securing her end and then looked for another large branch to use. Phoebe took in a deep breath as she looked up through the canopy and readied herself for a long night.

To be continued…


	2. Creepy Crawly Things

A/N:

I changed some things about who Prue is married to. I decided to have Andy alive and well and that is who she is with.

Chapter 2

Creepy Crawly Things

They gathered what they could as the sun was lowing in the horizon and they were already drenched with sweat and muscles ached. Moving around was a challenge as they had to watch every step and every move had to be calculated. Paige was pacing and seemed to be mumbling to herself while Prue and Phoebe continued to make the platform they would be sleeping on tonight. Piper was doing her best with the snake she killed earlier as she impelled it on a stick for cooking. They did not have a fire yet and the longer the snake was not cooked the more dangerous it became in making them sick.

"Paige what's wrong?" Prue asks as she was already getting irritated with her pacing.

"There's no air," Paige replied and seemed to be clamoring at her chest a little. Piper stopped her task at the moment and got close to Paige but her baby sister almost pushed her away," I can't breathe here," she said and they could see panic in her face.

"She is claustrophobic," Phoebe said as she too was filling the jungle closing in on her.

"Ok Paige you need to try to get control over it," Prue said as she walked over to her softly.

"I can't – I can't breathe," she said and she was almost hyperventilating.

"What do we do?" Piper asks while standing next to Phoebe.

"I don't know I never seen it this bad, except for that time with Barbes," Phoebe replied.

"Yeah but she beat that remember," Piper said.

"It doesn't just go away Piper, you're still afraid of spiders," Phoebe said as Paige sat down and rock back and forth.

"Paige I want you to take a deep breath in through your nose and then released through your mouth," Piper said and moved a little closer. Paige continued to rock back and forth but took a deep breath through her nose like she asked. Her exhale was rigid and choppy but she kept doing it. "That's good honey just keep doing that until you calm down. This is not a closet, its outside and nothing is going to close in on you," Piper said in a calm loving tone.

"Outside we are outside," Paige said between breaths.

"You know this place kind of takes care of every phobia," Phoebe whispered so Paige would not hear her to Prue.

"Tell me about it," Prue said and let Piper handle Paige while she continued to work on the platform. She realized that there was not enough for all four of them and knew they were going to have to start another one. She saw two trees that were close together on the other side and scope them out.

"That's good Paige just keep doing that," Piper said and moved even closer as Paige slowed her rocking down and her breathing was getting much better. "You ok?"

"Yeah thanks Piper but man does it have to be so dense?" Paige asks with a snort.

"Well since we suck at survival, I'm sure will burn some of this place down," Piper replied and laughed a little and hopes to get her sister to laugh as well. Paige did and Piper was able to move closer and sit next to her.

"Fire," Phoebe said and pulled out her handy dandy knife that had the attachment.

"Phoebe we need shelter first, it's getting dark and I don't think we can do this at night," Prue said as she pulled some larger branches over to the other side.

"I got it Prue, you know there are four of us so we can split up the jobs a little," Phoebe said with a raised voice.

"I know how many of us there are Phoebe but we all need to do this," Prue said with a raised voice as well and Piper rolled her eyes.

"I will not be the middle sister on this trip, got it, so get along," Piper said and patted Paige on the back as she got up to keep them from killing each other. Paige finally got control of her breathing and after wiping her hands that were soaked with sweat, she grabbed a long branch. Prue and Phoebe just looked at each other and continue to work on the platform and will clearly giving each other the silent treatment.

"Maybe I should go look for water," Paige said as she wanted to find some open space.

"Not alone you don't," Prue said as she tied up a branch.

"I'll go with her," Phoebe offered as she was already mad at one sister.

"Look for water vines," Piper said as they started to head out.

"That's a great idea, but one problem you have nothing to carry it in," Prue's voice was a little harsh and even Piper was taking it the wrong way. She walked over to her older sister and looked right at her even though Prue was avoiding her glare.

"Are you trying to piss everybody off because this is our first day, and I'm sure the elders are just enjoying themselves right now," Piper said and then grabbed her hand that was tying a vine around some branches to get her to stop.

"I am trying to survive and keep you guys alive," Prue said as she now faced Piper.

"Prue we are not kids anymore and we can take care of ourselves, if you let us," Piper said and let go of her hand to work on the dinner for tonight. Prue did not reply and she roughly worked on the other platform.

"I'm sure there's something out there that we can use as a cup or something," Paige said as she could not wait to find an open area and not feel so closed in.

"Try to mark your path so you don't get lost coming back," Piper said as she wrinkled her nose at the snake that was now impaled while blood ran down the stick.

"Ok," Phoebe said and bent some large leafs down so she could tell that they have been done on purpose. They disappeared from sight and Piper was already nervous for them as they went looking for water and a way to carry it. But she did not like how Prue was acting towards everyone and decided to use this time to find out why.

"Are you in the mood for snake kebab?" Piper asks while holding up the dinner.

"Its food," Prue replied with a little smile.

"Ok what's up?" Piper asks as she helped her put the last branch in place.

"Piper I don't think anyone is taking this seriously," Prue replied and sat down on the log to get some rest. Piper sat next to her after putting the snake back down, making sure it was off the ground as the entire floor seemed to be moving.

"Well the elders won't let us die, it kind of contradicts their whole better good thing," Piper said.

"You don't know that Piper."

"I'm not saying it won't be difficult, but they won't kill their precious charmed ones."

"Our kids are getting older and could take over," Prue said and started tearing a leaf apart.

"Is that what you're worried about, is that once our kids are old enough they won't need us any longer?"

"No I'm just saying that we need to take this seriously. Piper I have a bad feeling about this," Prue replied and Piper just laughed it off.

"Oh for god's sake Prue. It's not like this is something they would not do, and you said it yourself we are growing apart."

"Maybe you're right I think this place just brings the worst out of people when they first get here, you know that whole panic thing," Prue said and tossed what was left of the leaf to the ground.

"Oh crap when is mine going to hit?" Piper asks now looking a little worried.

"Probably tonight when it is completely dark and all the creepy crawlies come out to play," Prue replied with a smile.

"That was helpful."

Phoebe and Paige had cut their way through until finally they found a somewhat opened path. Paige stood on it and closed her eyes where lifting her head up to the sky. "Oh thank god," she said as Phoebe tumbled out of the bush.

"Ouch, hay I don't want to be behind you anymore, I kept getting hit with branches," Phoebe said as she got her footing back.

"Sorry I just needed some air," Paige said while looking around. There was still a lot a canopy over their head but at least there was a small path that they could walk on without having to cut everything down in front of them.

"Do you know what water vine looks like?" Phoebe asks as she looked at every tree around her.

"Like a vine," Paige replied with a sideways look.

"Smart ass."

"We should find something to use to carry it in," Paige suggested and began to look at the ground for a cup like object or bowl.

"Wait can't we use these large leafs?" Phoebe asks as she pulled one off that was almost the size of her. Paige raised her eyebrow and began to remember something she saw on the TV.

"Yeah, I just need to remember how they did it," Paige replied and took the leaf out of her sister's hand. She twisted and turned it until finally it made a funnel and then she bent the end up and used a small vine to tie it with. "And that my friend is ingenuity," she said proudly.

"Wow that looks like it would work, good job sis," Phoebe said as she inspected their new container. Now the hunt for a water vine. They cut through many vines until finally one yielded water and they put the engineered leaf to work. The clean drinking water flowed freely and did not leak through the leaf, but it was not enough for four people.

"We are going to need a lot more," Paige said and took a good look at the vine she cut and then looked for others.

"Paige let's not get too far away ok," Phoebe said as she was terrified of getting lost.

"Just keep bending those leafs and we should be fine," Paige said and found another vine. She could not help but take a drink as she was dehydrated and so was Phoebe. They smack their lips together savoring the cold wetness as it hit their lips.

"We should save some for Piper and Prue," Phoebe said with a giggle.

"No I don't want to," Paige said jokingly as they filled up another container.

"Ok I think we got enough, we should head back before Prue sends out a search party," Phoebe said and took a deep breath as she turned around and found a branch she bent over.

"That would just be Piper," Paige said as she followed her carrying one of the water filled leaf bowls. Phoebe had the other and they made their way back following the bent leafs and branches. They were not that far from camp but it was amazing how if it wasn't for doing that simple task they would have gotten completely lost. They could also hear hammering noises and rustling coming from their campground which helped in finding the right place.

"We come bearing gifts," Paige said as she stepped out of the bush with Phoebe behind her.

"Oh you wrapped it for us," Piper said as she got a look at the leafs.

"Paige is a genius," Phoebe said and showed Piper the water inside.

"Good job guys," Prue said and all of them gave her a weird look.

"Are there body snatchers here?" Phoebe asks as she was not sure if that was Prue at the moment.

"No we had a talk and I think we're just dehydrated and starting to get hungry, so our tempers are kind of short," Piper replied as she took a drink and swore it was the best water she ever had. "Wow that is good."

"Here Prue," Phoebe said as she took hers over to her.

"Thanks because I am getting a huge headache," Prue said and Phoebe nodded. After they all got rehydrated it was time to finish up the platforms and maybe start a fire. Piper and Paige got the starter from the pile of wood and other material they would need start the fire. Prue used rocks and put them in a circle on the end of each platform and then put a 5 inch thick layer of mud so the fire could rest on that and not burn the platform down. Paige gathered some large leafs to use as bedding and made sure to shake them out because of insects and other things that might be attached. The natural light was fading and they were running out of time to start it. Phoebe took the blade of the knife and scraped it against the Flint which created large sparks. She aimed towards the cotton stuff she got earlier and it caught on fire quickly as they slowly added small twigs to it. Prue would blow on it periodically to keep it going and to keep it hot as they all could feel the heat from it. They were like little kids in a candy store as the fire finally took and they could add larger twigs and branches.

"Ok I feel like a caveman," Phoebe said while coasting the fire.

"Good now we can eat," Piper said as she put the snake kebab over the flame and could hear crackling noise of skin and meat cooking.

"I still want steak," Paige said as the thought of eating what was cooking was a little too disgusting, but she was starving and very tired.

"Once we eat we need to move the fire to both platforms. It will help keep mosquitoes away and other potential predators," Prue said and everyone's eyes widened.

"What other predators?" Phoebe asks.

"Large cats and vampire bats," Prue replied.

"Vampire bats?" Paige asks nervously.

"Yeah they come out at night and their teeth are so sharp as the also use their saliva to numb the area, so they can suck away," Prue replied and now everyone was looking up.

"I hate this place," Piper said as she checked the snake. "Well I think its done."

"You first," Phoebe said and Piper just gave her a weak smile as she pulled off a little. She closed her eyes and took the first hot bite and chewed. "Oh god this is good," she said as her stomach was growling.

"I don't think it taste like chicken, so don't pull that crap on me," Paige said while Piper handed her a piece and then distributed the rest equally.

"Wow this is good," Prue said a little in shock how it tasted.

"Ok I will not order this at a restaurant, but for survival food it's not bad," Phoebe said while finishing up her portion. "I'm still hungry."

"I know but we will find food in the morning, right now my body aches and I need to sleep," Piper said as she got up and dusted herself off. Prue finished up hers as well and then started moving a section of the fire to one of the platforms.

"So what are the sleeping arrangements tonight?" Paige asks while helping Prue with the fire and used some leafs to carry it over.

"I think the kicker should sleep with the kickers," Phoebe said and looked right at Paige.

"I don't kick," Paige argued.

"Oh yes you do," Piper agreed with Phoebe and Paige just looked away from them defeated.

"You and Prue and me and Phoebe," Piper said and tried to contain a laugh.

"Are you saying that I kick?" Prue asks.

"And punch and scream, like sleeping with a three-year-old," Piper replied and headed off to one of the platforms with Phoebe in tow.

"Fine come on fellow kicker," Prue said and put her arm around Paige as she laughed a little. They all climbed up on the platforms as the sun finally faded away over the horizon.

"Shit the Beacon," Piper said as she remembered that it only showed itself at night. She stood up delicately on her platform and could see something glowing in the distance high in the sky.

"So that's it," Phoebe said while pointing at it.

"Our way home," Piper said and then got back down to put a mark on the ground. She used a stick to show its direction in the sky and then climbed back up. It was night now in the jungle in everything changed. It was much colder and they were thankful for the fire at their feet that they would have to periodically check through the night. Both sides would take turns keeping an eye on it as the jungle came to life. The could hear things crawling on the ground and distant noises of Jaguars and other large animals. And then there were the crickets and other insects that were not in sync with each other.

"Could someone turn down the jungle please?" Piper asks sarcastically as she covered her ears while trying to get some sleep.

"Didn't Leo get you a disk with the sound of the jungle on it?" Phoebe asks while still sitting up as she was going to take the first shift.

"Yeah but I had Wyatt throw it up in the air so I could blow it up outside, it drove me crazy," Piper replied. Phoebe could not believe how dark it was and she could not see 2 feet in front of her face literally. There were eyes peeking out from everywhere mostly in the trees and will probably birds or other animals that would leave them alone for the most part. But Jaguars can climb trees and whenever she saw two yellow eyes peeking around corners that were too close, she always had her machete ready.

Paige had first shift on her side and now that closed in feeling was much more intense as she too could see yellow eyes. What she could not see was the other platform that was only 10 feet away from her. All she could make out was the fire that was low but there. Even the firelight was not enough to illuminate the area and darkness along with cold was prominent.

To be continued…


	3. Underestimating

A/N:

Thanks for the reviews lizardmomma.

Chapter 3

Underestimating

The sun finally peaked over the campy as a cold, loud and frightening night came to a cease. Piper was sitting up but her head was down as she could not stay awake any longer through the night. The sound of the jungle changed and she opened her eyes to a fire that was almost out and 85° temperature. The air was thick as she wiped out the sleep from the corners and put some small twigs on the fire to get it started again. Phoebe was still asleep and so was Paige who was also leaning against a large tree branch that kept her from falling off the platform as Prue was lying down, sound asleep. She stretched her back in her neck was stiff from being in that position for so long. Her throat was dry and her lips slightly chapped from the lack of moisture in her body. She gingerly got down off the platform to not wake anyone up as they all needed to sleep and stretch once more scratching her arms and neck that became a feeding ground for mosquitoes and God knows what else last night.

"I need to pee," she whispered and was still have to wake when she tried to find a place to empty her bladder. She moved branches out of the way quietly as she went into the forest. She was not going far but still wanted to give personal privacy in case anybody woke up. She found a spot that was about 15 feet away that was a little more open then what she walked through and took off her pants. She looked around for something to use after she was done but was worried about using anything as she grabbed a medium-size leaf and make sure to shake it very well, just in case. It's been a long time since she had to squat to go to the bathroom and at these moments she envied men. She finished up and used the leaf to clean herself off and then grabbed her undies and pants to put them back on. While she was buttoning her cargo pants she heard some rustling in the bushes and now she was awake as her adrenaline was kicking in. She started to pull on her machete when she saw the maker of the noise and smiled.

"Breakfast," she said as a medium-size turtle came out and then once it saw her went into is shell. "Well that's convenient even pack yourself up for carrying," she said and walked towards it and picked it up but then felt her feet slide out from under as the ground gave way. She dropped the turtle and was now hanging by some vines with both hands while the turtle popped out of its shell and tilted its head at her," You little bastard," she said while trying to pull herself up but she could not get any footing and when she looked down, it was a steep cliff with what looked like water at the bottom. The canopy made it hard to see the distance and if the water was deep enough to survive. She was at least 30 stories up and was now beginning to panic as she struggled to get herself on more secure land. "Phoebe, Prue anybody!" she yelled and the vine could no longer support her weight and broke. She screamed as she slid down the mud covered wall and then it was almost like a slide as it inclined a little and now she was airborne.

"Shit!" she yelled while readying herself for the water and hoped it was deep enough. She splashed in mostly on her back and the cold water was shocking to her system not to mention the fall. She could feel the current moving her and it made it difficult to surface. She finally broke through the top of the water and was swimming frantically as she tried to get her bearings while the current move her. 'Help!" she yelled as loud as she could until she went over a small waterfall that landed her into a small river. She came up for air once more and saw land to the side and used every bit of energy she had to swim to it. After climbing onto the muddy shoreline she rolled on her back and worked on getting her breath back and was looking up to a cliff that she probably fell down further away from camp and a thick canopy that would make it impossible to see her. "Don't panic," she said and started checking herself for injuries. Just a few scrapes on her arms and of course bruises that were going to form later. She finally got to her feet sluggishly and was now cold, muddy and wet. She put her hands on her knees while her lungs ached and her muscles were already getting sore. "Dammit!" she said while water dripped off her hair.

Phoebe awoke thinking she heard something and looked around their camp while slapping her lips together and wiping her eyes. Paige was also awake on the other side, while Prue was not happy about the movement on the platform," Keep it down," she said and Paige just rolled her eyes as she tossed some small twigs on the fire and jumped off while Phoebe walked over to her.

"Welcome to another day in paradise," Phoebe said as she stretched her body.

"If this is paradise I want to go to the underworld for vacation," Paige said as Prue finally started to wake up.

"Hay where is Piper?" Phoebe asks as she looked around the camp. Prue jumped off the platform and also stretched her body out as she hated hard beds.

"She probably went to the bathroom," Paige replied.

"What, how many times do I have to tell you not to go anywhere alone," Prue said and seem to be already cranky.

"Don't you yell at me, it is way too early for that," Phoebe said and felt the need to empty her bladder is well.

"Well lets go to the bathroom and we go together, I will yell at Piper when she gets back," Prue said and they made their way to the same place Piper was earlier.

"Piper!" Prue yelled as they started to remove the lower half of clothing.

"This is when I wish I was a man," Paige said and they both looked at Prue who at one point was because of a spell.

"Piper!" Prue yelled again and was now getting very nervous at the fact she was not getting a reply.

"Why isn't she answering us?" Paige asks while putting her pants back on.

"Maybe she's back to camp already," Phoebe replied as she too was getting scared. Prue looked behind them and could see the huge drop-off.

"Guys be careful," she said and used her arms to push them back.

"Wow that is steep, hay look we found water," Paige said noticing the glimmer of water at the bottom. Prue looked at some vine that looked broken near the edge and her heart stopped.

"Oh god," she said and got on her knees to give herself more balance while looking down. "Piper!"

"You don't think?" Phoebe asks as she too looked over.

"I don't know, why the hell isn't she answering us?" Prue replied and started looking for a way down but everywhere her eyes set, it was a huge drop-off.

"What do we do?" Paige asks nervously.

"We need to get down there, this is fresh she must have lost her footing," Prue replied and started grabbing vines.

Piper made her way to the waterfall and there were rocks she could use to climb up, but they were slick with water and it was at least five stories high. She tried to clean off the mud from her hands using the river water that she wanted desperately to drink, but she also did not want to die from dysentery or other pathogens.

"Its ok just climbed back up and start yelling," she said and started her climb unfortunately she was on the other side but could not find another way to get up on the site she fell. She hoped that they would be a way a crossed when she got to the top.

Prue was using her machete to cut and slash frantically as Paige and Phoebe helped. "She could be hurt," Prue's voice was revealing just how scared she was.

"They won't let us die Prue," Phoebe said trying to comfort herself and her sisters.

"It doesn't matter, we need to get down there," Prue said as she did not feel the same way. "Here Paige start tying these together," she said and handed her some vines that would be able to withhold one person's weight or maybe two.

"Prue how are you going to get down there?" Phoebe asks.

"I will rap this around me and you guys will lower me down, once I find her you can pull us back up." Prue replied.

Piper finally made it to the top of the waterfall that was not very loud because it was not very big and now understood why they did not hear it earlier. The good news was the slope on the other side was not as steep and the gap was not that big between where their camp was and where she would need to cross. That was the problem how to get over to the other side. It was impossible to tell the terrain because of this thick foliage and massive canopy, but she did not have a choice. For some reason they were not hearing her and hoped she didn't go down river too far. Being stuck here alone would be unbearable as she only had some basic knowledge of survival, but not near as much as Prue or even Phoebe who dated a mountain man in New York. Leo was also good at survival mostly because of his military experience but he was not here and she never went camping with him and the boys as she hated it. The muscles of her legs were burning and she was very dehydrated as a huge headache was forming. Her arms felt like Jell-O as she began to climb the steep incline.

"Piper!" Phoebe yelled again in hope to get a response, but nothing and she just wanted to jump down and see if she was ok, but she knew that two injured people would not help and she had no idea how deep the water was. They were still tying vines together and were slowly making a rope but it was so far down that they would need a lot of it. Paige was gathering more and had to watch her footing to avoid tumbling over the cliff. Prue was working frantically and even almost cut off her finger in the process while working with the vine.

"Prue slow down you're going to cut something off," Phoebe said and put her hand on Prue's shoulder and felt her body shaking a little. "I know you're scared, but we can't panic that will not help her," she said and Prue took a deep breath and nodded.

Piper was using a stick she found to give her leverage as her boots were slipping and sliding all over the place on the mud. She would thrust the stick into the ground and pull herself up only after getting a good footing. She refused to fall back down again mostly because she did not have the energy to make the climb. Her sisters had no idea where she was and she did not want them to go wandering off looking for her. Energy is a major resource and using it like this will zap it all in no time and without replenishment she could die of dehydration or exhaustion. "Come on just a little more," she huffed and puffed while pulling herself up and finally made it to the top. She rolled to her back again and made sure that her knees were high to help with blood flow and circulation as she moves them side to side to keep from throwing up.

Prue was still working on the vine and they have been working on it for over an hour, each minute that passed was excruciating as they had no idea how badly she was hurt or if she was even alive.

"What if something took her at night?" Paige asks remembering the yellow eyes she saw last night.

"No she fell," Prue replied not wanting to think of the other," We would have heard something," she continued when she stopped what she was doing and put her hands up to silence everyone," Be quiet." Their senses were now at peak as they listened and could hear someone yelling but it was distant.

"Piper," Prue said and ran towards the direction she was hearing it making sure to keep her footing. They looked over the gorge and look for any movement on the other side. Piper was waving her hands and yelling for them and Prue almost went to her knees as her fear was subsided for the moment. "Piper how did you get over there?" she asks while using her hands to couple her mouth as she yelled across the gorge.

"What?" Piper asks as she was having difficulty hearing her. She started looking for aware crossed and could see a vine that was coming from a tree on their side that was draping on a limb on her side.

"What is she doing?" Paige asks as Piper was reaching for something.

"Oh hell no," Prue replied and could see what Piper was thinking," Piper don't!" she yelled as her younger sister was pulling on the vine to check its strength.

"She is not going to do what I think she is," Phoebe said while looking down.

"Ok here I come," Piper yelled even though her sisters were shaking their heads no. she jumped onto the vine and started swinging across as the sound of branches cracking made all of them stop breathing. She was coming hard and fast but completely misjudged the length and was now going beneath them.

"Piper!" Prue yelled as she heard a loud wet thud just beneath their feet and they all cringed. Prue looked over and was terrified that she hit rock but she hit a wall of mud that softened the blow.

"Ouch, guys I am slipping," she said as the mud was making the vine feel like ice.

"Paige get me that," Prue said while pointing to the vine they were working on earlier. Paige ran and got it and gave it to Prue while Phoebe held onto the vine Piper used to swing over with.

"Hurry," Phoebe said as Prue lower down the rope they made that had a loop in it.

"Piper put this under your arms," Prue said as she could barely see her as she was covered with mud but only about 10 feet down. She lowered it and Piper used the remaining energy to put the vine around her and under her arms. She could feel it go tight and hope they were good at tying knots as she was done. Her sisters pulled her up and over the ledge and back into the camp getting hers far away from it as possible.

"Piper oh god are you ok?" Phoebe asks while hugging her on the ground.

"Did I say I hate this place," she muffled out as it was even hard to speak at the moment. Prue took off the vine and immediately began to look for injuries.

"Here we need to get her clothes off," Prue said noticing that Piper was shivering and she wanted to check for any major cuts.

"We need water," Paige said and grabbed their leaf cups and headed for the water vine she found the other day.

"Dammit Paige wait, Phoebe go with her," Prue said and was still amazed that they did not understand to not go alone anywhere.

"Ok," Phoebe said and grabbed her cup as well before going with Paige. Piper was too exhausted to protest her sister undressing her as she struggled to stay conscious.

"Why did you go alone?" Prue asks after taking off her pants. Piper just lifted her hand but could not answer as breathing right now was priority. Prue looked at her legs and found some cuts but they were not that deep and would use the water that Paige and Phoebe would bring back to clean and sanitize the cuts. She did the same with her shirt so all she had on was her undergarments. Piper was mostly dead weight in her arms and after checking her thoroughly she embraced her. "God I was so scared," she whispered now filling relieved that she was back with them and just exhausted for the most part. Piper put her arms around her and let her sister hold her up. After about 15 minutes Phoebe and Paige emerged with water and they put Piper on one of the platforms to get her off the ground so they could clean any cuts. One was a little deep for Prue's liking and she was concerned that it would get infected.

"Wait I think I can help with that," Paige said and ran to the other end of their encampment which was not very large and started messing around between some bushes.

"What is she doing?" Prue asks while giving Piper some water to drink.

"Don't know," Phoebe replied while building up the fire to keep her warm. Paige returned with a handful of what look like spider web.

"You can use this to seal wounds, the secretion works as a disinfectant and it is stronger than steel," Paige said and began to put the webbing on the deep cut. Although they did not need stitches, it was still a fairly open wound that needs to be taken care of on her left arm near her shoulder. Piper grunted a little as she pressed it in but Prue was impressed as it did seal the wound quite efficiently and with Paige's knowledge of doing that.

"How did you know to use that?" Prue asks while rubbing Piper's legs to create warmth.

"I read it somewhere," Paige replied as she gave Piper some more water to drink.

"On the bright side, we found the river," Phoebe said as they all calm down and Piper was getting her strength back.

After 45 minutes past Piper was much better but still hungry and a little tired but nothing she could not get through, as raising three children can wear anyone out as well.

"Prue can I put my clothes back on, starting to feel a little vulnerable?" Piper asks as she sat up.

"Piper your clothes are covered in mud," Prue replied while looking at her shirt that was hanging from a branch over the fire to dry it out.

"Right now I don't care," Piper said and Prue smiled at her while Paige started getting her clothes ready. They were dry but still covered in mud and now are hard as a rock. After breaking off the mud from both her pants and shirt and clean up the boots and socks, she got dressed and was thankful that she still had her machete.

"Ok what happened?" Phoebe asks.

"Well I went to the bathroom and then saw a turtle that would have made a great breakfast for us. But I lost my footing and I swear it mocked me before I fell," Piper replied as she got off the platform and tried to remove the remaining mud from pants.

"So you almost died for a turtle?" Prue asks.

"Pretty much," Piper replied.

"I had a pet turtle, I don't know if I could have eaten it," Paige said making a sad face. Piper just rolled her eyes at her baby sister.

"Trust me if you get hungry enough you will eat anything, which by the way I'm starving," Piper said while trying to keep the rumbling of her stomach down.

"Ok we need to regroup a little we had a kind of exciting morning," Prue said while looking at Piper. "First we need to find something to eat before we head out, so Phoebe and I will go hunting while you guys keep the fire going and maybe gather some starter that will need later on," Prue said and the nodded. They understood that they had to break up the jobs and none of them were insignificant. Phoebe grabbed a long branch and used her machete to sharpen the tip to use as a spear if needed. Prue did the same while Paige and Piper looked for the turtle once more, but it was gone and they gathered anything dry and small enough to carry in their pockets for kindling so they could make a fire at the next camp. All of them were dreading hiking through the forest as it would be draining and not to mention scary.

Prue and Phoebe headed out to find some kind of substance and right now anything would do that was eatable.

"So what are you in the mood for, pork chop, bacon and eggs?" Phoebe asks as she stepped over large branches behind Prue.

"God don't mention food right now," Prue said as her stomach was growling. She came across a large grasshopper that was resting on a large leaf.

"Oh no I am not eating bugs," Phoebe said while Prue placed her hand over top of it and quickly grabbed it.

"Phoebe we cannot be picky and it is a good source of protein," Prue said and after cutting off its head with her machete she put it in her pocket.

"We are going to need a lot of them," Phoebe said when her eye caught something moving to the side of them that was much larger than a cricket," don't move," she whispered and then hunched down to not scared away or to hide from whatever it was. After a few moments what was making the noise came into view and it looked like an overgrown rat that had some beaver like features. "What is that?"

"Food," Prue whispered back and Phoebe raised herself slowly and quietly while aiming her spear." You only get one shot at this," she whispered and Phoebe nodded. Phoebe held her breath as she took aim but she was a good shot with projectiles and she threw it at the animal. It went right through its abdomen and tried to run off making a horrible noise. Prue ran up and staffed it again with her sphere to finish it off. "Nice shot sis," she said impressed with her sister's aim.

"It looks like a huge rat," Phoebe said now getting a good look at it.

"Meat is meat but yeah you're right, I have no idea what it's called," Prue said and picked it up. It was the size a beaver and we give them enough nourishment to start their trip. The cricket in her pocket now seemed like a toothpick compared to this.

"I hope Piper can cook it," Phoebe said as they made their way back to camp making sure to follow the trail of bent leafs they used earlier.

"We will need to gut it first, that should be fun," Prue said and tried not to get sick at the thought.

They finally emerged from the forest and again seemed to be lucky in finding nourishment, but the rain forest is plentiful when it comes to wildlife and getting it is usually not an easy task as they are so many obstacles in your way. The sun was rising and so was the heat and humidity as sweat was already making its appearance on their bodies and besides saving Piper's ass they have not done a lot yet.

"We come bearing gifts," Phoebe said again and knew this time the response would be far different.

Piper's mouth agape as she looked at what she thought was a large rat." Ewe what is that?"

"Don't know but it should feed all of us," Prue replied as she put it down on the leafs that Piper already prepared for whatever they brought.

"Do you know how to gut this?" Phoebe asks.

"It is probably the same as any mammal but I'm not an expert," Piper replied and picked it up from its leg while wrinkling her nose. I should do this away from camp because I'm sure you guys don't want to see this stuff," she said as Prue was ready to say her famous words," I know don't go anywhere alone, so who wants to help?" Piper asks as all them looked at each other not wanting to volunteer. "Do you want to eat or not?"

"Fine," Prue said and followed Piper just a few feet out of the camp area so they could do the dirty deed while Paige and Phoebe moved the fire to the middle and then started making sticks to cook the meat on.

"You know we are not dong half bad," Paige said.

"Well there was that little incident," Phoebe said and Paige nodded.

"Yeah but we got fire and food," she said as her stomach was getting louder by the minute.

"It was a lucky shot Paige, we almost had to eat bugs," Phoebe said to keep her in perspective.

"You hunt good," Paige said in a caveman like tone and they both laughed.

Piper used some vine to hang they catch so she could start gutting it while Prue gathered some large lease to put the meat on.

"How do you know how to do this anyway?" Prue asks.

"Remember when I went to that conference a few years ago," Piper replied as she started to use her machete to cut into the flash and remove the furry skin.

"Yeah," Prue replied.

"Well I wanted to introduce new things for the restaurant and no rat is not one of them, but we had to learn how to skin a variety of animals so that we understood how the meat should look for the best quality," Piper said and continued her task.

"Looks like it came in handy," Prue said as she tried not to watch the process.

"And Phoebe's skill at throwing things also came in handy," Piper said as she cut off one of the legs.

"I guess the elder was right we all possess skills that will help us survive here," Prue said remembering what he said to them when they arrived.

"Could you please not give them a bigger head because it takes up the entire sky," Piper said with a half-smile. They both laughed and Prue almost teared up as she almost lost her sister just a few hours ago. Piper finished her job at the moment and was so hungry she could eat it on the spot without cooking it, but that was dangerous and a fire was waiting for them. Prue put the good meat on the large leafs and was happy with the amount they got as they walked back to camp. Paige and Phoebe already prepared sticks for them to put it on and without wasting any time, they started cooking it. They ate it happily even though the taste wasn't all that great, it was substance and their stomachs were full. Piper found some herbs and used them to help the taste and they were amazed at how she could make something that was bland have flavor. They put out the fire and drank the remaining water hoping to find more along the way in used a marker that Piper Place that night when the Beacon showed and started into the deep forest where everything was going to change and get much more dangerous.

To be continued…


	4. A beautiful danger

A/N

Thanks for the reviews. Every one of them will go through something pretty harsh so there is much more to come.

Chapter 4

A beautiful danger

They were now in the deep forest and the heat along the humidity was taking every bit of moisture in their body out of them. Every step was a task as they had to go over and under fallen old trees and clumps of thick brush. They have been walking for hours and hoped they were going in the direction of the Beacon as they followed the sun but had to stop on occasion to check their position as it was hard to see through the canopy. They were now going upwards and it made the hike much harder as the floor was slippery from decaying leaves and the ground being moist.

"I don't know why they call it a rain forest, if it doesn't rain," Paige said while hacking away with her machete.

"Be careful what you wish for, we're going uphill and we could get washed away easily," Prue said as she was in front of the group.

"At least I would get something to drink before I died," Paige said.

"Oh by the way nice Tarzan impression," Phoebe said while walking behind Paige.

"It was more like George," Piper said and wiped her brow and realized she just coded mud on her face from her sleeve.

"Ok guys lets take a break," Prue said as they came to a little clearing.

"Thank god," they all said as their limbs were burning from the constant use of them.

"How come we have not found any water vines since we left?" Paige asks and looked over a log before sitting on it.

"I don't know but we need to find water," Prue replied looking around.

"I found the river," Piper chimed in and sat next to Paige.

"I think it found you," Phoebe said with a chuckle as she put her hands on her knees to catch her breath.

"We all agreed about the Beacon earlier and were not changing course, and we don't have a container to boil the water in so it would not matter," Prue said as she too put her hands on her knees while bending over to catch her breath as well.

"Do you still have that cricket?" Phoebe asks as she was getting hungry again.

"Nope I don't like carrying dead things in my pocket," Prue replied and gave a smile.

"Too bad I couldn't get the turtle we could use it shell for a way to boil water," Piper said while Paige was picking clumps of mud off of her.

"Can I be in the rear?" Paige asks.

"Why?" they all asks.

"Because you all are starting to stink," she replied and they all smelled themselves and then tried to move their noses far away from their own odor as possible.

"Oh god we stink," Phoebe said.

"It sure would be nice to know what is edible here in the way of plants," Paige said and then felt something hit her on top of the head and she remained perfectly still. "What was that?" she asks nervously. Piper bent down to pick up what fell as it looked like it had a paper cover to it. She used her machete as she was not sure and turned it over to get a better look. "Ask and you shall receive," Paige said as she picked it up. It was a guide to edible plants and other survival information. The book looked like it was at least 10 years old by the date on the cover and it was a little damaged on some of the pages. It had a brownish color to it and some damage but otherwise was readable.

"So now they are just throwing things down on us?" Piper asks as she looked over the book with Paige. Phoebe closed her eyes and started slapping her hands together.

"Cheeseburger – cheeseburger – cheeseburger," she said and then open them hoping that greasy goodness would fall from the sky but then she put her hand over her mouth and tripped over a few branches as she got a look above her.

"Phoebe what's wrong?" Prue asks and then followed her sister's eyes up.

"Oh god," she said and they all looked at what may have dropped the book. There was a skeleton of a person who was attached to a parachute that was already decaying. It had a backpack that was open slightly and that's probably what the book fell out of.

"That's not right," Piper said while trying to get some distance from what was right above her head. Prue began to look for a long stick so she could reach it.

"Prue what the hell are you doing?" Phoebe asks as Prue started poking about 15 feet above them at the skeleton.

"Hay we need a container and whoever this was may have some supplies," Prue said and the skeleton began to break in pieces and collected on the forest floor.

"Stop that, I'm sure that's bad luck somewhere," Piper said and moved further away close to Phoebe.

"I don't want to eat the food I'm pretty sure it expired," Paige said when the skeleton's head hit near her feet and a large centipede crawled out its eye.

"I've had nightmares like this," Piper said while covering her mouth. It took Prue about 5 minutes but finally she was able to get the parachute along with the remaining parts of the skeleton down from its canopy graveyard. She used her machete to poke around in the bag and make sure there were no critters that could bite her. There was a canteen and a knife with some old food that was clearly out of date and mostly crumbs. But the best thing of all was a compass that came off the skeleton arm and was attached to his tattered clothing.

"This is perfect," Prue said and was clearly very happy as she held up the items.

"Well another person's misfortune," Paige said while nodding her head.

"We are so going to hell," Phoebe said while looking at Piper.

"Do you think we should say something, you know like a prayer?" Piper asks.

"Yeah poor guy," Prue said and she used her machete to dig a small hole and put his remaining parts in it. Paige made a grave marker and placed it on the fresh dirt. They said a little prayer and were thankful for what they were able to get. She took off her pants and now everyone was not sure what to say.

"Prue what are you doing?" Piper asks.

"We need to keep as much moisture as possible, so take off your undies and socks," Prue replied and then did something that stunned them even more as she put her underwear and wrapped it around her head.

"Ok that is just gross," Phoebe said.

"No it's survival," she replied and put her pants back on and her boots but left her socks off.

"What about blisters?" Piper asks as Phoebe started taking off her pants.

"She's' right want that cause infection if they break open?" Paige asks while picking up the backpack.

"You can leave them on just make sure they stay dry, so when we can, put them over the fire," Prue replied and finished putting her boots back on. Paige tucked her arms into her shirt and did the wonderful dance of removing the bra without removing her shirt.

"Piper come on," Phoebe said as she put her underwear on her head.

"Nope they stay where they are and anyway I'm so caked with mud it's almost like a layer," Piper replied as Paige put the bra on her head.

"Before anyone says anything I know what I look like," Paige said and put the backpack on.

"Weird science comes to mind," Phoebe said and laughed.

"Ok lets go and Paige hand me the compass or should I call you cone head?" Prue said as she looked at her. But then broke out in laughter when Paige tilted her head slightly and now looked more ridiculous.

"Sure," Paige replied and handed her the compass. Prue looked at it and made sure to follow the direction of the Beacon that they marked earlier.

"Southwest ok here we go," she said and started cutting once more to make a path as they followed her. "Keep an eye out for water now that we have the container to boil it in."

They continued their hike and as the headaches started which meant dehydration but they were still going uphill and Prue wanted to find some kind of flat land so they could camp for the night and find food and water. She understood that it was a resource game and needed to give enough time to build the shelter and fire not to mention look for nutrients before the sun went down. Finally after reaching the top of whatever hill they were climbing, she decided that this was a good place to rest and maybe even find shelter for the night. It was still relatively early in the day but they were exhausted, hungry and extremely thirsty.

"This is a good of a place as any," Prue said and sat down on a log.

"Can we take the underwear off our heads now?" Phoebe asks and just wanted to collapse on the ground but she has already seen a large centipede and other things crawling around in their hike and decided to remain standing.

"Sure," Prue replied as they all remained silent for a moment while rubbing their temples because of a headache. Paige was trying to read the small hand guide to survival in the Amazon and came across something interesting.

"Hay if we find this there might be water in it," she said while pointing to a picture of a 'Scythian root'. This herb because has the ability to retain water in human body," Paige said and they all looked at it but trying to find something like this was going to be difficult.

"Notice the word retain water, Paige we need water in order to retain it," Piper said and Paige rolled her eyes.

"I know Piper, I'm just trying to help," she said clearly upset with the sarcasm.

"We need to split up again and look for water or we are going to kill each other," Prue said.

"I will go with you," Paige said while walking over to Prue as she was a little mad at Piper right now.

"Ok Piper you and Phoebe go that way and we will go this way, remember to mark your path and let's meet back here in 45 minutes," Prue said and they headed off into different directions in their groups.

"I think she got mad at you," Phoebe said while walking behind Piper.

"It's kind of hard to take anyone who wears a bra on their head seriously and I know she's trying to help but it's not like we know what these things look like," Piper said when she heard something rustling close to her feet. She readied her machete as she was on edge to begin with and looked down. There was a small bird struggling to fly and she smiled a bit at possible food.

"Oh look it's a baby, it must have fallen," Phoebe said while looking for a nest above her.

"Sucks to be it," Piper said and started to reach to the baby bird until something grabbed it before she could and pulled it into a 3 foot diameter hole. She jumped backwards with her hands to her body with Phoebe next to her who did the same. They both did not speak for a moment trying to comprehend what just took the small bird.

"Ok – ok I think that was the giant tarantula," Phoebe said as they both started walking sideways while keeping a very firm on the hole and were bunched up together.

"Like tarantula wasn't bad enough, they have to put the word giant in front of it?" Piper asks while clenching her teeth as she hated spiders.

"Ok we just move away and then run," Phoebe said as they continue to move sideways until they felt a little safe. Piper just started shaking her hands out and got the shivers.

"Did I say I hate this place," she said and they both were now looking down for any holes. They both stopped when they heard a scream in the distance. "What was that?" she asks.

"It sounded of like Paige," Phoebe replied and they made a run for their new camp. Once they emerged Paige was pulling Prue out of the jungle by her arms.

"Oh god what happened?" Piper asks as she runs up to them.

"I don't know we were walking and everything was fine and then she just started screaming and holding her leg," Paige replied.

"Prue did something bite you?" Piper asks while her hands shook as she took off Prue's pants.

"Yes and it really hurts," Prue replied as tears were streaming down her face that was also contorted in pain.

"Fuck," Phoebe said while starting the pace and Piper felt something crawling on her hand and did the normal reaction of shaking it off. It landed on the backpack that Paige took off once she got Prue back to camp and saw it was a large ant.

"Oh thank god," Paige said and then killed it.

"What?" Piper asks completely confused.

"It's a bullet ant," Paige replied while rubbing Prue's back.

"I don't understand is it poisonous?" Phoebe asks.

"No but it will hurt like hell for about five hours, but the pain will come and go for the next 24," she replied as Prue was rocking back and forth as it felt like someone took hot pliers and grabbed a chunk of her leg and started to twist." We need to get hers comfortable as possible and keep her calm, she will probably start going a little delirious on us soon," she said while Piper was stroking Prue's hair that was not covered by her underwear. She has never seen her sister in so much pain as Prue went into a fetal position.

To be continued…


	5. The search for water

A/N:

Thanks for the reviews Sasha, missycole23 and lizardmomma.

Sasha, thank you so much for the kinds words and I have never really thought about one just about Paige. I do like her character and maybe I will take on that challenge a later time.

Chapter 5

The search for water

Prue was leaning against Phoebe as Piper was trying to figure out what to do next as they forward momentum was stopped by the 1 inch size ant. Paige was looking through the book for any remedies but came up short as Prue would go in waves of pain on her leg and it moved around her body like a shockwave.

"Piper we need to get her off the ground," Phoebe said as she kept looking around her afraid of more ants.

"Phoebe I know but we also need water and shelter, I think we should make our way back to the river," Piper said.

"We could keep moving forward until we find a better spot," Paige said as the thought of climbing back down on slippery mud was just too daunting at the moment.

"Prue can't walk right now," Phoebe chimed in as Prue was too busy trying to keep herself from vomiting as the conversation was taking place.

"Paige we have no idea how long it would take to find a good spot and how long it will take to find water and food before night comes. Ok listen we make a way to carry her downslope," Piper said and started looking for Prue's length in branches.

"It took us over three hours to get up here, do you have any idea how long will it take to get back down, oh and there is the fact that the river was at least 30 feet below our original camp spot," Paige said while Piper continued to gather.

"I know Paige, we will need to find a way down," Piper said and put the bundle on the ground and then started looking for vines to tie it with.

"This is insane," Paige said.

"Dammit Paige I am the oldest right now because Prue is pretty much out of it, so we do what I say," Piper's voice was clear and steadfast.

"Fine we do what you want because God forbid any of our ideas make sense," Paige said and helped her tie the bundle of branches next to each other creating a flat sled that they could put her on.

"Prue are you with us?" Phoebe asks.

"Fuck this hurts," she stuttered out while continuing to rock back and forth in Phoebe's arms. She was sweating and looked very pale as she was clammy to the touch. Phoebe was afraid of her vomiting and therefore losing any moisture she had left in her body. Piper and Paige finished up in record time but did not talk to each other while they were doing it. Phoebe helped in putting Prue on the bed of branches and then they used some leftover vine to strap her in to keep her secure. They made sure to leave four branches longer on each end so they could lift her up and off the ground.

"Ok lets go while we still have sunlight," Piper said and picked up on end while Paige picked up the other. Phoebe grabbed the two handles at the end near her head and hoped she did not vomit.

"We need to follow our tracks down," Phoebe said and Paige grabbed the backpack along with any other things they almost left behind, like Prue's machete and compass. They began the journey back and it was far more difficult than climbing up as they kept sliding and were also carrying Prue. They would stop to take breaks periodically but restarting took every bit of energy they had as the sun was working against them by going down. Piper kept her eye on the canopy and hoped they could get to the river before night came it was completely black and impossible to see. Prue hand her hands covering her face as a wave of pain rushed through her and she could no longer keep the contents of her stomach inside.

"Wait Prue is getting sick," Phoebe said and they put her down and tilted her to the side, so she could get it out without choking.

"Its ok sweetie, just hang in there," Paige said while rubbing her stomach. Piper was getting furious that the elders did not come down and get them and are letting her suffer like this. After Prue was finished she grabbed her end and was determined to get there.

"I think we are close," Phoebe said as she lost her footing for a moment and slid but regained it. She was breathing heavily and her headache was getting more intense while they descended. After another hour they arrived to the original camp and Piper began to look for water vine but they used them up the day before. Paige was looking for another way down to the river and did see a way they could go.

"Guys I think we can make it down this way but it will be touchy," Paige said and showed Piper the possible root. She could see the water and could not believe how close they were to it and yet so far away.

"Ok we go this way," Piper said and grabbed her end and waited for Paige to grab hers.

"I think we should take a small break," Paige suggested.

"Paige we don't have time now come on," Piper said and Paige grabbed her end roughly as Phoebe did the same. They made their way down and it was much steeper than the last trip to get to the camp.

"Just watch your footing," Piper said and made the first step down. She could feel her boots slip on the soft and slick mud while grabbing tree trunks for support, but of course that was a risk as many tree trunks have poisonous insects on them.

"Piper be careful where you grab," Phoebe said behind her and Piper kept going down while trying to keep an eye on where she put her hand. Prue was mostly oblivious to what was going on and the world seemed to be spinning every time she opened her eyes. Her heart was beating three times faster than it ever has and her leg felt like it fell asleep while someone was putting hot pincers on her skin and twisting. All she could see was the canopy above her and a little sunlight while also feeling the movement of them caring her down, and would occasionally feel a thud as she hit the ground because one of them dropped their end as they fell. It took almost another hour to get to the bottom and there was a little flat ground before it met the river. They put Prue down and they just lay down on their backs while moving their knees back-and-forth to keep from vomiting or passing out from exhaustion.

"See we did it," Piper said between breaths but this was only the beginning, they still need a fire and shelter, food and water.

"You know once Prue gets better, she is going to kill you," Paige said as she sat up.

"Yeah I know," Piper said and she sluggishly got to her feet and began to stumble a little as everything went black for a second." Whew," she said and stood still for a moment as her vision came back. "Paige give me the canteen, Phoebe did a fire started," she said and took the canteen to the river and filled it with water.

"Can't we just drink it, look its moving a little so it should be fine," Phoebe said as she did not have the energy to gather the materials for fire.

"We can't risk it Phoebe, Paige and I will help you," Piper replied and finished filling the canteen.

"Who volunteered me?" Paige asks with a snort.

"Bossy lady over there," Phoebe replied and Piper gave a pressed smile.

"Prue how you feeling?" Piper asks as she knelt down next to her.

"I want to go home this is not fun anymore," Prue replied and tried to laugh but it came out more like a whimper as she was moving around constantly, "Could you untie these please?" she asks and Piper took off the vines that held her in place.

"Ok guys lets get to work," Piper said and Phoebe grunted as she got to her feet and felt a wave of nausea come over her. She fought it back and grabbed some kindling they saved from earlier out of the backpack and then started looking for tiny branches that were dry enough. Piper and Paige did the same never being very far from Prue. Once they got enough material which took over 45 minutes they started the effort of making a fire on damp ground with damp wood. Paige grabs some rocks to put the fire on so it would sustain it better as Piper took a stick and tied some wet vine on it and hanged the canteen from that. She did not know if the container could handle the immense heat and was afraid to put it directly on the fire. They were losing some light fast as Phoebe struggled with the flint to get the fire started. She did finally get an ember and blew on it to coast it along as Piper and Paige grab more material to keep it going. The sun was pretty much gone from the sky in a matter of moments and now the only thing given them light was the fire.

"It will take over 30 minutes for the water to be ready, we should look for some leafs like we used the first night to put it in," Piper said and Paige looked at the area they just came down and could not believe how dark it was and didn't move from her spot.

"Paige," Piper said while looking at her baby sister.

"Piper I can't even see the tree line and we are not that far from it," Paige said and looked at her.

"Once the fire gets bigger we should be able to see better," Piper said as she too was getting the heebie-jeebies just looking at the blackness. Phoebe continued to build the fire up but was really worried about not having enough wood.

"Guys this is not enough to keep us going for tonight, and trust me I don't want to lose this," Phoebe said as she could hear the river that was not that far from them, and knew this was a big no no when it came to the Amazon.

"Here I will go get some more," Piper said and picked up a branch that was on fire a little and try to use it as a torch but it barely penetrated as she found some trees that had low lying branches. But not being able to see what you're grabbing was terrifying not to mention anything could come out of that tree line and grab her. She did manage to grab quite a bit but it was wet and needed time to dry out, so she put it next to the fire and hoped it would so they could use it. The water was boiling and she knew it was ok to drink but it was way too hot and needed time to cool down. They were thirsty and just wanted to jump into the river and drink it dry, but now that is was dark they rather die of thirst then from whatever was in the water at night. Once it was ready Piper gave the first drink to Prue who almost drank the whole thing.

"Prue honey you need to drink slowly," Piper said and pulled it away. She then gave it to Paige and Phoebe was next as Piper finished it up and was thinking of going back to get more when Phoebe grabbed her arm.

"Don't you dare," she said.

"Phoebe it will just take a minute," Piper said but was having difficulty moving as her fear was building.

"Phoebe is right Piper you can't see anything," Paige said but she did want more water as it barely quenched their thirst.

"Give me that," Piper said while pointing to a branch that was a little better lit then her first one. She used it as a torch to get to the river and stood there for a moment before putting the canteen into the water. She could hear a lot of movement and splashing all over the place and tried to stay still as it filled once more. She ran back to the fire like a child running into their bed after turning off the light not wanting to look behind her and put it back on the fire.

"Ok that was scary," Phoebe said as she kept an eye on her the whole time.

"You have no idea," Piper said and put her head on her arms that she rested on her knees. Prue was still in a lot of pain as the fourth hour was coming upon them since she got bit but it would take over 24 hours to completely be done with. She was starting to talk to herself mostly in mumbles as Phoebe stroked her hair trying to keep her calm. Once the water was done Piper repeated the same process but this time they had some left over.

"I will take first watch because we can't let this go out, and because we are so close to the river and on the ground we need to be vigilant," Piper said but dreaded staying up as she was completely exhausted and just wanted to sleep.

"Ok I will take the second," Phoebe said and put her head on her arms while using her knees to hold them. She was not about to lay flat on the ground and decided to sleep sitting up. Paige did the same and Piper sat next to Prue and talked to her to keep herself awake. None of them had a wristwatch or any other timekeeping device, so she sat her eyes on the only star she could see through the canopy and made a decision that when she could no longer see it, she would wake up Phoebe. The sounds of the water were not encouraging as she could occasionally see eyes poke up to the surface that was reflected by the fire. She had her machete out at all times and beyond taking care of Prue who would just start talking randomly and keeping an eye on her other sisters to make sure nothing came in from behind them, but water was the most worrisome. She knew that there were anacondas and caiman in the water and they mostly hunted at night. She was starving and could hear her sister stomach growls along with hers and was afraid it was a mating call to them, but in a way she would love their meat right now. Occasionally centipedes and large bugs cross her path and although she was hungry she let them pass as she was not sure if they were poisonous or not. She would occasionally get the shivers and looked over Prue to make sure nothing was crawling on her as the mosquitoes bit her relentlessly. Phoebe and Paige would occasionally swat at their bodies but still seemed to be somewhat asleep. The fire helped keep some away and she knew they needed more smoke but refused to even get close to the trees. She could hear monkeys and other creatures of the night and it was a horrible soundtrack that nightmares are made of. Although for some it may be relaxing and peaceful but when you're stuck here in the middle of the night with only a small fire and a machete for protection, it changes your perspective. If she had her powers she could have just started blasting the water to kill something so they could eat it, but they were without them and it has been a long time since she has felt so vulnerable. She looked up and could no longer see the star and figured it has been at least two hours. She could no longer stay awake and falling asleep was too dangerous, so she woke Phoebe who did not like it at all.

"Oh god did I even sleep?" Phoebe asks groggily.

"Kind of, you were swatting a lot," Piper replied and felt bad but she needed to close her eyes," Sorry Pheebes but I can't stay awake any longer," she said and put her head down. Phoebe understood completely and checked on Prue who was in and out while occasionally grunting and pain that did not seem to wake either one of them. Paige was next as Phoebe could no longer keep her eyes open as well and after about three hours woke her up to finish or wake Piper up for the last bit. Paige never wanted the sun to come up so badly as her claustrophobia was worse at night and the sounds were terrifying. She put wood on the fire to keep it going but it was getting quite low as she held Prue's hand.

"Please sun come up," she pleaded as Prue finally drifted away to sleep mostly out of the pain that caused her to pass out. Paige had to give her water through the remaining night as she vomited several times but it was mostly dry heaps.

"Paige!" Piper said while shaking her and when she opened her eyes it was a beautiful thing, the sun was up.

"Piper what?"

"You fell asleep," Piper replied and was clearly upset as she went to get more water.

"I think it just happened, I stayed up Piper," Paige said as she was getting angry that Piper would think she would not fulfill her part.

"It doesn't matter we need food," Piper said as Prue sat up but was still in pain but not as much.

"Where are we?" Prue asks while looking around.

"The river," Paige replied and felt a little happy that she was awake and now she was going to give Piper the third degree.

"What we decided on the Beacon, what the hell are we doing here?" Prue said and tried to stand but her leg was sore and made it hard to stand on. Paige helped her up as Piper finish filling the canteen with water and made her way back.

"Well Prue things changed when you got hurt, we needed water and we couldn't find any up there," Piper replied as she put it over the fire. Phoebe awoke and smiled a little when she saw Prue standing but she was so pale and shaky as Paige was holding her up.

"Piper I don't care, you have any idea how hard it is to follow a river without a boat," Prue said as she looked around and everything was a steep incline just to get back up.

"So we should have stayed up there and died of thirst," Piper said as she was getting angry herself at getting questioned about her decision.

"How are we going to get out of here?" Prue asks and then sat back down as the pain and she bent over while it laid siege on her body.

"Prue," Piper said and went to her.

"I don't have the energy for this," Prue said and pulled her knees into her.

"We need food," Phoebe said and got to her feet and brushed herself off as she could hear distant thunder. "You have to be kidding me," she said and now Prue was even more furious than before.

"See we could have got water and made a shelter, but there is nothing down here to do that with," Prue said and Piper looked away from her while folding her arms.

"We could climb back up," Paige suggested but when she looked at the incline they came down she realized that was impossible as it was about to rain and it was too steep. Piper made her way to the tree line and just started cutting down anything she could to occupy herself and keep Prue's glare at bay.

"Ok I will try to go fishing," Phoebe said and tried to make her way to the river when Prue grabbed her leg.

"No you can't even see what's in there, how are you going to go fishing you don't have a fishing pole or a net," Prue said and Piper put what she cut down as Prue got up again. Paige was facing Phoebe who was now facing Prue and was also getting upset.

"Dammit Prue we need food I can use my machete to make a spear or something, or we could use the leftover parachute to make a net," Phoebe replied Piper could see something come out of the water and at first was not sure what was until it was clearly out. She smiled a little as she remembered him from before, she didn't want anybody to scare it away and she walked around them why they were arguing.

"Come here you little bastard," she said under her breath as she gingerly approached it.

"Hay that is a good idea to use the parachute as a net," Paige said as Prue and Phoebe are at each other's throats. Piper grabbed her nemesis quickly before it got away and held it up.

"Look I have breakfast," she said and they all stop arguing as they heard that word and looked at her. They gave a wide smile when they saw the turtle but those smiles faded quickly when something came out of the water and grabbed Piper by the leg. She was gone in a matter of seconds.

"Piper!" Prue yelled but when she got to the water's edge she froze as she scanned it looking for any signs of struggle. Phoebe just jumped even though the water was murky and muddy she tried to go where she went in at.

"Oh god – oh god that was an alligator or something," Paige said as she remembered seeing a glimpse of a long snout and teeth.

"Piper!" Prue yelled and the pain from her bite was now gone as she was filled with panic. Piper surfaced and was clearly disorientated while trying to struggle with something that was starting to roll in the water. "Death roll," Prue said but it was faint. Phoebe pulled on her machete and took hold of what had Piper and started whacking hoping not to hit Piper on the leg. Paige decided to jump in and help even though everything in her body was telling her not too. The water was about neck high as she made her way to Piper who was starting to go under again. Prue put her hands to her head as her entire family was now in the river. Paige grabbed Piper as Phoebe continued to struggle with what took her under. She was hacking mostly at water but was hitting something as Paige pulled Piper to the shoreline and Prue grabbed her as well and away from the river.

"Phoebe get out of there!" Prue yelled as her sister was having some kind of adrenaline rush.

"Piper are you ok?" Paige asks through tears while Prue began to check her. Her pants were torn badly on the back of the calf and she feared the worst as she got a good look at the wound but then let out a sigh of relief when she saw just a few large scratches. Phoebe came out of the water dragging something behind her and when she was on shore she collapsed to her knees.

"Is she ok?" Phoebe asks through breaths.

"Yeah she is just in shock," Prue replied while Piper's entire body was shaking and was blinking rapidly.

"What was it?" Paige asks and Phoebe stood up and revealed what attacked her. It was a black caiman but seemed to be a baby but was still over 3 feet long. Its back was bleeding badly and the machete was impaled through the back of its neck cutting the spinal cord and killed it instantly. They all just looked at it, and were thankful he was not an adult as they would have lost Piper because there's no way she could have survived it.

"Did anyone get the turtle?" Piper asks as she coughed up water and with a shaky voice. They all laughed a little as they hugged her.

"On the bright side, we have meat," Phoebe said while looking at the black caiman. After about an hour when Piper finally calm down and the others put more wood on the fire, Piper cut the tail off because that where most of the meat is, but she would not let any go to waste. Piper was lucky that it mostly got her pants leg rather than her flesh as it could have intentionally bit it off even though it was only 3 feet long.

"Piper get some rest ok," Phoebe said as she was already exhausted from the previous day and now this. Piper did not argue and once she ate her stomach was full, she fell asleep on the bed they made for Prue. Paige cleaned up her cuts on her leg so they wouldn't get infected with the boiled water from the river. They were all extremely cautious when getting more and would even stand there looking for any kind of signs of life before dipping the canteen into it. They were all starting to realize that following the river may be dangerous and the beacon was becoming a better idea, but they needed to find a way up and that was going to have to wait until they were fully rested and well. Prue would still have waves of pain and her upper leg was black and blue from the bite. But compared to how she felt yesterday and now having food in her system and water, she was starting to get her strength back.

To be continued…

A/N:

Paige is next to feel the Amazon, what will it be?


	6. Crushing

A/N:

Thanks for the reviews.

Chapter 6

Crushing

Everyone was rested but not 100% because of the lack of sleep as they all looked up the steep incline and were going to have to climb in order to get out of the gorge they were in. They did not have enough material to make a raft and after what occurred with Piper, none of them wanted to go near the river. Piper skinned the caiman and made sure to get off all the meat she could. She placed it over the fire while they gathered some water to turn it into some kind of jerky, but without the proper spices that was a difficult task. She had a huge hole on the back of her pants where it grabbed her and pulled her in, so Paige grabbed leafs and used some vine she found to seal it. They also used vine around their ankles to make sure nothing could crawl up because of the bullet ant incident. Prue's leg was extremely sore and knew the climb was going to be excruciating as she made a walking stick to help. They made some kind of walking stick to help them dig in to the mud as Piper remembered when she had to climb out of the gorge and it helped greatly. Paige put the backpack on and put some of the overcooked meat in a leaf to keep it as fresh as possible as they were going to need it.

"Ok guys lest get going," Prue said and took her first step up the slope and cringed as a sharp pain went through her leg.

"Prue we can carry you up," Phoebe said as she noticed.

"No its ok, I just need to work it out," Prue replied and they started the climb. They would use the short sticks and thrust them into the ground to give them leverage as they did so.

"I really hate this gorge," Piper said as this was the second time climbing out of it.

"You know this is burning a lot of calories which normally I would be happy about," Phoebe said as she checked her footing before continuing.

It took almost 2 hours to get to the top and was now back where they started at the camp.

"Why do I feel like we are going in circles?" Paige asks as a line of caterpillars was crossing right in front of her. "Why do they do that?"

"Wind resistance," Piper replied.

"Yeah because their are moving at such a fast speed," Phoebe said and laughed.

"Talk about tailgating," Prue said as they just kept coming and they just watched them cross and could not help but be a little amazed at how organized they were.

"They are brightly colored, so my guess is that they are poisonous," Phoebe said noticing the bright yellow spikes coming off the back.

"We have another climb to make and we need to get up there before it rains," Prue said as the thunder was rolling in. they used Piper's marker that located the Beacon from the previous night and the compass to get their bearings. After taking a sip of water they started the climb once more. Their muscles ached and none of them smelled very good as they made their assent. Piper at least was not covered in mud as she took an unwanted dip in the river but she was still feeling pretty disgusting. Prue put her underwear back on her head as Paige used her bra while Phoebe and Piper both refused at the moment.

"Hay can someone tire my hair up, "Piper said as it was sticking to her neck and face. Paige used a vine to do it and Piper could feel a little coldness on her neck for only a second, but it felt good. They all put their hair up to help with circulation and so they could see while walking. They finally arrived at the top and took a brake as Piper pulled out some meat and gave each of them a strip to give them energy.

"Are you sure this is ok to eat?" Paige asks before taking a bite.

"Yes Paige its been cooked," Piper replied and ate her strip.

"Well we made it and now we can make real progress," Prue said as she grabbed her leg.

"Prue are ok?" Piper asks.

"Yeah every now and then I get a sharp pain and am still a little nauseous, but its ok," Prue replied as she started to feel raindrops and closed her eyes and lifted her head to the sky. "Oh that feels good."

"Do you think it will stop soon?" Phoebe asks while sticking her tongue out to taste the clean water.

"Be careful its poisonous," Piper said and started laughing as Phoebe put her tongue back and quickly and then smacked her on the arm playfully.

"I don't know but we need to find a clearing before it gets dark and set up camp, because I refuse to sleep on the floor tonight," Prue said while rolling her neck to get out the kinks.

"We should keep going," Piper said and started walking into the dense forest. Prue took the lead again but she was slow moving as her leg hurt and she was afraid of those little ants. Piper was behind her and was thankful for the slow movement as her leg was sore as well. Phoebe and Paige followed as they would go over and under difficult terrain.

"Does anyone know any good jungles songs?" Phoebe asks.

"Besides George, nope," Piper replied.

"God these mosquitoes are relentless, hay do you think they will get our powers if they drink our blood?" Phoebe asks.

"That would be something, exploding, orbing, telekinesis and levitating mosquitoes," Piper replied as she giggled.

"I could just see their little arms stick out as they blew up a leaf or something," Phoebe said and now they were all laughing mostly because of being slaphappy. Phoebe was not paying attention were she put her hands and the next thing she knew she felt a sharp pain in her left hand as a grabbed a tree. They all stopped and ran to her.

"Phoebe what happened?" Prue asks as she looked over her hand. There were three black long spikes that went into her hand.

"Shit!" she yelled while bending over as the pain was rushing to her body.

"Oh god it's not poisonous is it?" Piper asks nervously she got a good look at the tree that was covered in black spikes.

"No it's the give and take tree," Paige said and started scraping away the spiky bark to reveal a mushy inside.

"What?" Prue asks as she pulled out the spikes from Phoebe's hand.

"Here put this on the wounds," Paige replied and after cleaning off the blood with her shirt sleeve that was a little clean she rubbed the pulp into the wounds. Phoebe wrinkled her face in pain as her body shook. Piper made her sit on a log because she looks so pale and was afraid she would pass out.

"Hay doesn't hurt that bad anymore," Phoebe said as Paige went to get more.

"That's why it's called the give and take tree, its bark works like a numbing agent and stops the bleeding," Paige said and put more on.

"Piper get some clean water so we can take care of this," Prue said and her younger sister did what she asked. She ran the water over the punctures and then put some more of the bark on it. Paige grabbed a good handful and put some in a leaf just in case they needed it for later. Phoebe was rocking slightly trying to get over the nausea and lightheadedness as they dressed her wound.

"Is everything out here trying to kill us?" Phoebe asks.

"It seems that way so far," Piper replied as she sat next to her.

"We need to keep a close eye on that," Prue said as she was worried about infection.

"It should be ok as long as we keep it clean and I will look for more spider webbing along the way," Paige said and they took a small brake so Phoebe could get her strength back. Paige tore off a part of her sleeve so she could rap it, after cleaning it as best she could with the water without wasting it.

"God my feet hurt," Phoebe said and all them could feel blisters forming as they were not used to this kind of walking.

"All we need to do is find a clearing guys and we can get camp ready and rest," Prue said and helped Phoebe up making sure to check her eyes for sings of dizziness.

"I'm good that stuff is amazing," Phoebe said as the pain was more like a pinprick then a complete go through.

"I put some in the backpack for later," Paige said and Phoebe hugged her.

"You rock sis," Phoebe said and Paige smiled.

They continued their walk for at least another two hours as it rained on them. The ground was getting muddier but the coolness that the rain brought was a relief from the heat and humidity. Unfortunately it also made them cold and making fire when it's raining is pretty much impossible. It was also washing away the natural morphine that Phoebe had on her hand and the pain was starting back up. Prue was having issues with her leg being so stiff and it just got worse as it got colder. Piper's leg was also aching along with her feet and the lack of sleep was making it hard to pay attention to her surroundings. After seeing that tree from hell, she tried not to use any trees for leverage and just used her walking stick. They finally came to a clearing and tried to use some large leafs over their heads to keep the rain off, but they were already soaked to the bone.

"We can't do anything until this stops," Prue said and pulled out the canteen and left the lid off so it would fill with water.

"I could start cutting down some large branches," Piper said as she did not want to stop moving afraid she would not be able to start again.

"Are you sure?" Prue asks.

"Yeah trust me I am sure," Piper replied and looked around the little clearing for ways to get off the ground tonight and maybe even make a roof in case a continued raining. It was only midday and for once they were ahead of the game when it came to setting up camp, unfortunately it was raining. Paige decided to help Piper out while Phoebe and Prue rested their injuries while sitting next to each other for warmth.

"The first thing I am doing when I get home is taking a nice hot bath," Piper said while helping Paige cut down a tree. The trunks were only about 4 inches in diameter but it still took a lot of work to get them to brake off at the base. Prue showed them how to do it with little effort as possible, by doing it with diagonal cuts. Most of the time the they did not fall to the side because they were stuck in any thick brush above them and they had to pull them down and away from it.

Piper found large ferns that were taller than she was and began to look at the leafs on them. They were long individual and can caved leafs that when she put at a diagonal, the rain water just went down them like a channel. She smiled a bit and began to layer them making sure to use another fern in between the gaps of the other. The got under it and could not believe how efficient it was at keeping the rain off. She looked at the stem and used her machete to clean one side while leaving the other completely intact. Prue watched her sister work and grinned proudly at what Piper was doing, she was problem-solving and liked what she come up with. Paige was also impressed with the potential of a roof over their head tonight to keep the rain off.

"Do you feel bad about making them do all the work?" Phoebe asks Prue.

"Nope not today I don't, I'm still a little groggy from the bite."

"I should probably try to find something for fire, but everything is soaked," Phoebe said.

"Yeah but we should probably try to get some material and dry it out. We could use our body heat to dry the small stuff, just don't put it on your skin," Prue said and put the leaf down she was using for an umbrella.

"See now you're going to make me work," Phoebe said and did the same.

Paige found two trees that were a good distance apart from each other and had natural breaks between the limbs that would be a good starter for a platform. She would like it if they could all sleep together on one and because they had some time, she decided to try to make one big one. While Piper was gathering the roofing material and other branches they would need, Paige started the process of creating their little tree house for tonight. She would split the vines to make them easier to manage and with all the moisture it made them more pliable to work with. She started the platform that came to her chest but she had to ask Prue on occasion how to assemble it. Prue would periodically stop looking for firewood and help her out while Phoebe continued looking. She did find some small pieces and then put them in her pants pocket in hopes her body heat would dry them out, unfortunately her pants are also soaked and felt it was futile for the most part. She then started gathering medium to larger pieces and putting them under some large leafs to keep the rain off of them. She was starting to get a whole new appreciation for the indigenous people who lived here on a regular basis and for her ancestors. Living off the land was not easy to say the least but it did bring her closer to the earth and that is something she truly appreciated. It took over five hours of hard work to get the platform done and Piper was excited to try out her roofing solution. They had to make a frame to hold the weight of the ferns as they need to stack them off center from each other. Paige found some stuff that looked like straw; even though it was soaked it would make a good insulator between the layers of ferns. She could also use it for bedding once it dried out a little. Once the roof was up the all climbed a makeshift ladder up into their new shelter in got close to each other for warmth. The ferns did their job of keeping the rain off of them and Phoebe pulled out the stuff from her pocket and spread it out, to get it to dry. Making a fire at this point was not possible but hoped they could before it became night time. From what Prue could tell they still had at least three hours of daylight left and was happy that the shelter was done and they could relax for a bit. They still had some meat left over from the Cayman but it was only enough for a few bites for each of them.

"How can it be so hot and then so cold?" Paige asks as she had her hands wrapped around herself.

"Hay what about some of that parachute?" Phoebe asks.

"It might work as a blanket but I don't think it's going to be all that warm," Prue replied while pulling it out. There was not that much left of it as it was mostly destroyed by the rain forest over the years. But she wrapped it around them mostly around their backs and it did a little in keeping in the body heat.

"Do you think I should try?" Phoebe asks as she pulled out the flint that was attached to a small knife.

"Why not it's not like we have plans or anything," Piper replied and Phoebe got the starter ready as they all used their bodies to keep the wind at bay. "Please work," she said as Phoebe started using the back of the knife and scraped it across the flint to make sparks. She kept doing it and it took over an hour to get something to catch. They all got excited when they saw the red glow and were very cautious not to put it out by piling too many things on top of it. Finally the fire was going but would need constant vigilance as the moisture in the wood made it difficult for to stay lit. Paige jumped down and went to get some more wood as they had their hands over the fire and could feel its welcomed heat.

"Oh god this feels so good," Piper said.

"Too bad we don't have a turtle to cook it on," Phoebe said and got a stern look from Piper.

"Dam thing is evil," Piper said.

"You know that story about the turtle and the hare right?" Prue said.

"I don't care I will kill the little fucker," Piper replied and then they heard a piercing scream coming from behind them. They all jumped off the platform and could see movement in the bushes.

"Paige!" Prue yelled and ran towards it with the rest following close behind. Once she got there she pulled out her machete as Paige was being squeezed by a very large snake. The others stopped in their tracks as it looks like something from a horror movie. Paige was on the ground and was struggling to breathe as it constricted every time she did.

"Help!" she screamed while its teeth went deeper into her shoulder but its head was covered by its massive body. Phoebe also pulled out her machete and they started cutting whatever they had access to.

"Paige hold your breath," Prue said as she heard a cracking noise and Paige screamed in pain as something broke. Paige was starting to see white sparkles everywhere and it was like having a car drive onto your chest and stop there. She tried to hold her breath but her panic was making that impossible. Prue cut at the large snake's body with Phoebe doing the same as Piper held Paige's head and tried to comfort her baby sister that was losing consciousness.

"Paige stay with us," she said trying to stay calm but inside her heart was pounding. She has seen pictures like this on the Discovery Channel of anacondas killing their pray and this one was the size of a limousine in length and the body was her mass. Prue manage to cut the snake in half's along with Phoebe but it was still constricting as a natural instinct. Paige's eyes closed and Piper was now using her machete to cut it up. It took over 2 minutes to get the snake off of her and then they had to pry the mouth open to get its head off her shoulder. Paige started coming to and when she took a deep breath it was queasy and she grabbed her sides and pain. Her shoulder was bleeding from the teeth and Piper put pressure on it to stop the blood loss.

"Paige can you hear me?" Piper asks as her sisters were getting the rest of the snake off and could not believe it was still moving and how much it weighed in chunks.

"I think she broke some ribs," Phoebe said remembering the cracking noise.

"Ok lets get her to the shelter and take care of her there," Prue said and they carried her and then laid her down on the bedding they made earlier. Prue took off Paige's shirt so she could get a good look at her ribs. They were red and one did not look right." We need to rap this," she said and grabbed some large leafs and vine while Phoebe helped sit her up.

"What if there is a puncture?" Piper whispered not wanting to frighten Paige as she was crying and shaking as her body was being affected by shock.

"We won't know until," Phoebe said not wanting to finish the rest of that sentence. Piper closed her sheeyes tight trying to keep in her outrage at the situation and to keep from just breaking down. Prue put the large leafs on gently and then used the vine to keep in it place. There was nothing they could truly do about broken ribs except keep them wrapped and pressure to reduce the pain. Piper grabbed the canteen and gave her some water but she was too out of it to drink.

"It was going to eat me," she said with a shaky voice.

"No honey I think you just scared it," Prue said as these snakes normally don't eat people because we are hard to digest.

"She scared it?" Phoebe asks and almost wanted to laugh at that statement.

"Its ok sweetie, you're ok," Prue said while stroking her dark red hair and laid her down so she could get her more comfortable. Paige brought her knees up as the pain was subsiding just a little because of the wrapping but it still hurt like hell.

"Will that bark work for this?" Piper asks.

"No it only works on open wounds, so we should put some on her shoulder" Phoebe replied as she tended the fire while Prue put some of the mushy bark on Paige.

"We need to keep her warm tonight, so she will be in the middle of us," Prue said and put Paige's shirt near the fire to dry it and used the parachute as a blanket. The fire helped keep her warm but body he was better and Prue got close to her and took her shirt off as well to generate it without hurting her side.

"Phoebe we should go and get some of that snake for dinner," Piper whispered.

"Yeah we should but I don't want to scare her anymore, so we need to cut it out there," Phoebe replied and they started to get off the platform.

"Where are you guys going?" Prue asks nervously.

"To get dinner," Piper replied and they went and got some of the large snake pieces. Piper guts a piece that was the size of her leg and took the meat. There was enough left over to feed a small village but it was getting dark and they needed to get back to the shelter even though it was only a few feet away. Phoebe tossed the remaining pieces that weight over 85 pounds a piece as far away as she could just in case larger predators came sniffing around. Piper tried to hide as much of it as she could from Paige who was still shaking as Prue tried to calm her and used sticks to put it on the fire. Phoebe went back down to get more wood but made sure to stay in view as she just went straight across from the shelter. The last thing she wanted to do was try to get wood at night. They all sat there silently as the meat crackled over the fire and the rain just kept coming. Piper finally broke down and placed her head between her knees while Phoebe rubbed her back.

"I know – I know," Phoebe said and was crying as well. This scared Piper more than the river incident and Phoebe huddled up close to her. Night finally did come and she could see the Beacon in the distance but had no idea how far away it was. She grabbed the compass and marked its location with a twig on the shelter that stuck out on the end. Prue tried to get Paige to eat something but she refused as she could not even look at the meat. The rest of them ate their fill and made sure to save some for her in case she got hungry enough. They all cuddled up next to each other after taking off their boots to let their feet dry. They would take turns again to keep an eye on the fire but left Paige out of the rotation as she needed to rest. Prue kept a vigilant eye on her throughout the night, making sure there was no puncture. She was thankful that there was not and that she probably just broke a rib, but traveling with that was going to be excruciating. She decided that she would talk to them in the morning about staying another night as the shelter was a good one and they could use it for a while if need be. Sometime in the middle of the night the rain did stop and then the mosquitoes came out. They covered themselves with the parachute whenever they slept but the person who had to stay awake to attend the fire, was at their mercy. Prue was up and could hear something chewing in the distance and knew that the rest of the snake was something else's meal and could only think of that would be, as she had to wake Paige from her nightmares periodically.

To be continued...

A/N:

What will be Phoebe's frightening experience as they make it out of thick jungle and onto the wetlands as they make their way to the beacon. Now food will become scarce and shelter even more so. There are many parts to the Amazon and it's not just dense jungle we need to worry about. Stay tuned.

Prue and Piper will also have a lot more to deal with as will all of them. Will the turtle get the best of Piper?


	7. Rain, Rain Rain

A/N:

Lizardmomma thanks for catching that. I fixed the spelling in the other chapters and reloaded them. And thank you lizard for the review, hee.

Thanks for the reviews.

Chapter 7

Rain, Rain Rain

Phoebe welcome the sun as it rose in the horizon even though she could not see it as it lit up the darkness that surrounded them. The fire was doing well and dried out some of the wood they put next to it. She decided to check her hand and unwrapped it to make sure it was not infected. She opened her hand and it felt like she had it in ice water for a while looking at the three small holes the trees thorns made. There were dried clumps of blood on top of them and she decided to use some of the pulp from the tree to help keep the pain down. For the most part it looked fairly clean as she put a new dressing on it, but it was still stiff as Prue was the next one to wake. She came out from under the parachute and grabbed her dried shirt off the makeshift roof. She was careful not to disturb Paige who did finally fall to a light sleep as her ribs were probably killing her.

"Morning," Phoebe said as Prue moved away from Piper and her baby sister to sit with Phoebe.

"Hay it stopped raining," Prue said while putting on her shirt.

"Yeah but it looks cloudy, what do they say welcome to the suck," Phoebe said and Prue chuckled.

"Man that was uncomfortable," Prue said while rolling her neck.

"I miss my soft warm bed so much."

"I was thinking, that we should stay here a couple of days to give Paige some time," Prue yawned out.

"Definitely, how is your leg?" Phoebe asks as she yawned as well.

"Better, much better," Prue replied as she pulled up her pants leg and took a look at the bite that just seemed to be a little red.

"We should check Piper's leg when she gets up," Phoebe said while swatting at some flies and mosquitoes. "Ok these things are really starting to piss me off."

"The parachute really helped last night and keeping them off while we slept," Prue said while doing the same as Piper groggily awake and blinked slowly as her eyes threatened to close again.

"Man you snore," Phoebe said and Piper just blinked at her. "I thought there was a Jaguar in camp last night."

Piper started cleaning out the sleep from her eyes as she moved away from Paige carefully. "You have gas," she said and sat next to Prue. She put her feet near the fire to warm them up while her socks that have seen better days were at least dry along with her boots.

"Hay my stomach is not seen that kind of food, ever," Phoebe said in defense of her highly active bladder.

"God these blisters hurt," Piper said as she looked at the bottom of her feet and near her ankle where some blisters were forming.

"We are going to take a few days to rest since we have this kick ass shelter," Prue said and took a look at her feet.

"It kept the rain off that's for sure," Piper said and grabbed the canteen to get a drink of water.

"I should go get some more fire wood," Phoebe said and put her dry socks and boots on.

"Stay in view," Prue said.

"After what happened to Paige yesterday, I will be up your ass," Phoebe said and jumped down. She took her machete and just went straight across from them to find some branches that were not completely soaked.

"How did she sleep," Piper asks as she usually is out like a log.

"Not well, she was hurting and had some nasty dreams," Prue replied.

"Who wouldn't?"

"Hungry?" Prue asks while pulling out some of the leftover snake meat that did not smell very well.

"Yuck," she said and moved away from it.

"You said it may stink but is fine," Prue reminded her.

"Yeah I was starving then," Piper said and took the small piece. Although it did smell bad it was still edible as it was cooked thoroughly and now is almost jerky. She bit into it while holding her nose and just swallowed as quickly as she could and then smacked her lips together and gave a shiver. "I want that dam turtle."

"I think it wants you," Prue said as Paige began to stir.

"Hay baby girl, you ok?" Piper asks while getting the canteen and gave her a drink while holding her head up. Paige took a small drink and cringed as she took a deep breath.

"Ouch," she said and Piper held her hand.

"We are going to rest today so just relax and we will take care of you," Piper said while stroking her hair.

"Where is my shirt, should I be worried this is not going to be like bareback Mountain is it?" Paige asks through a raspy voice.

"I don't know you look kind of hot right now," Piper applied and gave her a warm smile. Prue grabbed Paige's shirt that was now dry and helped sit her up so she could put it back on.

"There you go," Prue said while Paige was trying to keep her breaths short and shallow. Phoebe came back with some fire wood and placed it on the fire.

"There we go that should get it going again if he doesn't put it out first. Hay Paige how are you?" she asks and Paige did a thumbs-up while giving a weak smile.

"Piper I need to check the back of your leg," Prue said and Piper went over to her. She rolled up the bottom part of her pants leg and took off the makeshift dressing, mostly made of leafs and vine with the pulp from that tree. The scratches were red on the outside but otherwise looked fairly clean. "Good but if you start to get a fever you need to tell us."

"You got it," Piper replied as it started raining again. "Oh come on."

"Well at least we have water," Prue said and put the canteen out beyond the roofing to gather it. Phoebe gave Paige something to eat but it was hard to get down as her stomach was already queasy while Prue was occasionally jumping down to gather more would as the moisture was making it difficult to keep the fire going. Phoebe set up some of the padding so Paige could lean against it for better support and they had to tighten the vines around her chest to keep pressure on the rib. Paige pulled out her little book and began to read to help keep her mind distracted and maybe look for something that would help with the pain. Several hours would pass as the rain just kept coming and they would occasionally drift to sleep sitting up as the rain helped keep the mosquitoes and flies to a minimal.

"We should maybe look for something to eat that's close," Prue suggested as everyone was awake at the moment.

"Yeah I will go with you," Phoebe said and got herself ready to get soaked. "Piper keep the fire going so we can dry out when we get back."

"You guys are not going far right?" she asks nervously.

"No honey we will stay close," Prue replied to calm her while Phoebe grabbed the backpack so she could put whatever they found in it.

"Hay guys while you're out there could you look for this plant?" Paige asks and showed them a picture of what to look for. "its called Turmeric and has the unique ability of using its antioxidant powers to seek out and destroy free radicals in the body which contribute to pain and swelling. Or there is this one, Papain it should help with the mosquito bites." She said and they all looked at the pictures trying to force them into the memory.

"Ok lets go," Prue said and Phoebe followed her with her spear that she used the fire to harden the tip.

"Be careful," Piper said as they went out of view and hated any of them been separated for any length of time. "Well Paige its just you and me. Want to play charades?" she asks and Paige just rolled her eyes.

Prue and Phoebe tried to be as quiet as possible as they cut their way through the forest. Prue brought the compass so they could get back fairly easily and of course marked the path as the rain came down.

"Its going to be impossible in this rain," Phoebe said as she followed Prue.

"We need to try," Prue said as her hair was already soaked and was sticking to her face and neck.

"Prue can we take a break, we have been walking for at least an hour?" Phoebe asks and sat down on a log.

"Sure," Prue replied and sat a crossed from her on another log and could feel the cold wet water seeped through her pants.

"Piper is probably getting worried," Phoebe said.

"When doesn't she," Prue said and her eyes grew wide as she looked over Phoebe's shoulder.

"What – what is it?" Phoebe asks trying to stay perfectly still as she could see Prue's body shake slightly and not just from the cold.

"Is it a snake or a big spider?" Phoebe asks and then heard a deep growl from behind her. Prue slowly picked up her machete as what was behind her sister was flashing its teeth and was on a large tree limb ready to pounce.

"Phoebe don't move," Prue said hoping that the large cat would go away because there were two of them. Phoebe clinched her spear and tries to stay perfectly still as possible but fear has a way of counteracting that attempt. She was taking in quick and short breaths and just wanted to run. Prue could now see the Jaguar clearly and it was the size of her.

"Ok here is what we are going to do, you run and I will try to stab it," Prue said but it was a risky move.

"Stab what?" Phoebe asks as she still had no idea what it was that was behind her.

"I don't think it's seen me," Prue replied as she was at an angle and it seems to be focused on Phoebe at the moment.

"It?"

"Jaguar," Prue replied and Phoebe almost fainted on the spot. "Ok get ready," she said and Phoebe took a deep breath as the Jaguar got closer. The rain was going to make it difficult to get a good footing but all she needed to do was hit it hard enough to make it run away. Phoebe took off in a sprint as Prue stood up and raised her machete while the Jaguar leapt off the large branch but her machete slipped out of her hand because of the moisture, and Phoebe was now at the mercy of the Jaguar.

"Run!" Prue yelled and picked up her machete as it landed on its feet while Phoebe was struggling to get past fallen tree limbs and other debris while her feet were slipping on every step. Prue tried to catch up and then the Jaguar made its attempt, she saw it leap in the air and open its mouth wide while his claws were outstretched. It landed right on Phoebe's back and she hit the ground hard as it tried to bite the back of her neck but the backpack was making it difficult. Prue got to her and used her machete to make a puncture in its side to get it off. Her adrenaline was at its peak as Phoebe was trying to crawl away as she felt a burning sting on her back. The Jaguar swiped a few times hitting her back until it said its focus on Prue. "Oh shit," she said and started to back up with her machete outstretched in front of her. Phoebe was in shock as she got to her feet and started running again until she realized her sister was still behind her. The pain in her back was subdued by her body that was doing its natural thing of keeping it at bay for the moment. She grabbed her spear and as the Jaguar leapt at Prue she threw it and hoped it would hit its target. Prue jumped to the side as the spear hit the large hungry feline in the side and it stopped its assault as it tried to remove the spear with its teeth. It finally did and ran off into the jungle clearly injured.

"Prue!" Phoebe yelled as she ran to her.

"Oh god Phoebe are you ok?" Prue asks as she stood up.

"I think so, the backpack it could not get a good bite because of the backpack," Phoebe said as she took it off to look at it. The top part was ripped open but was mostly intact as she started feeling the pain in her back and put her hands to her knees while vomiting because of the stress of the encounter.

"Ok lest get you back to camp," Prue said and helped Phoebe by putting her arm around her and placing Phoebe's arm around her neck. She would keep checking behind her in case it tried to attack again while she used the markers they made to get back. It took over two hours as they were moving slowly and Phoebe would need to stop periodically to get sick. Now she was dehydrated and they forgot to bring water with them, but she could see the smoke from the fire in the distance and just moved faster. Once they emerged Piper jumped off the platform while Paige was still having difficulty moving around and stayed put.

"What happened?" Piper asks as she helped Phoebe up the ladder and laid her down but once she put pressure on her back she screamed in pain.

"Jaguar," Prue replied out of breath while lifting Phoebe's shirt up so she could see how bad it was. She cringed and tried not to show her panic as the cuts were quite deep three in total and the middle one was the length of her back. Piper put her hand over her mouth trying to keep the contents of her stomach in.

"I think these may need to be stitched up," Prue whispered to Piper.

"How?" Piper asks as they did not have that kind of material on hand. Prue used whatever she could to stop the bleeding but even the pulp from the give-and-take tree was not going to be enough. Piper finally has had it with this whole thing and jumped off the platform.

"Come and get us NOW!" she yelled while looking up through the canopy as rain hit her face." Do you hear me, we need help!"

Prue and Paige were trying to keep Phoebe from passing out as she squeezed Paige's hand hard while Piper kept yelling.

"Piper get back up here and near the fire, she only wounded it," Prue said as she was worried that the Jaguar would comeback by following their sent. Piper did what she asks but was still furious that the let her get this badly injured along with Paige. Prue looked at the parachute that had pieces of nylon string coming out the ends. "Ok listen I think we can use this to close this up a little but we will need a sharp needle."

"Wait what about the give-and-take tree it has needles," Piper asks.

"They are too thick," Prue replied as Paige started looking through the backpack. She found one of the small spikes from the give and take tree.

"I think we can whittle it down enough to where it would work, it looks like just a few areas need to be closed as the others are just deep scratches," Paige said and used the small knife to start the process as Prue pulled out some of the string from the parachute. Piper boiled some water even though it was rainwater; she wanted to make sure it was perfectly safe to clean her back with. She also tore off another sleeve of her shirt from the shoulder. She used some of the water to clean it and then put it over the fire for when they were done with closing the wounds to let it dry. After all the prep was done they put Phoebe on her stomach while Piper held onto her wrist to keep her from moving around.

"Ok," Piper said and looked away as Prue started the process. She pinched the skin together and started stitching up her sister who screamed in pain every time she went in. it was heart wrenching to hear her and Prue tried to keep her hands steady while tears came down her face.

"I'm sorry," she whimpered while putting the last stitch in. Luckily it only took about four to close it and Phoebe passed out as she finished. Piper used the boiled water and after it cooled down she put it on her back and then used her dry shirt sleeve to cover it up. They used some of the bark from the tree to help with some of the pain and to keep the bleeding down from the other cuts. It took over 45 minutes to cover and disinfect the area as much as possible. They finally setback for a moment and watched Phoebe's back move up and down slowly but smoothly as she took in breaths. She was still unconscious and they were thankful for that considering she would be in pain if she wasn't. Paige was holding her side and was starting to feel nauseous because of all the movement and leaned back to stay still for a moment.

"I need to set up some defenses," Prue said as she was still not sure if the Jaguar would come to get its meal.

"Prue just take a minute," Piper said as she used the parachute to cover Phoebe and keep her warm.

"Piper I need to do this," Prue said.

"No I don't want you to go down there right now," Piper said and pulled up the ladder.

"Piper they can climb trees very well and were not that high off the ground, I just need to make some spikes or something around the perimeter," Prue said and just shook her head." I know sweetie, so I will gather some branches and I can make the spikes on the platform ok," Prue said and rubbed Pipers arm.

"Ok I will help," Piper replied and Prue put the ladder back down. She made short work of gathering branches as she did not like being near the tree lines. Her and Piper made spikes that were at least 4 foot in height and continue this process until they had enough to surround the area and even put some on the platform on the outside of it. It wasn't a huge deterrent but it might help as the fire was the biggest priority in keeping them safe. It was already starting to get dark by the time they finished placing the spikes and they had no food to speak of. Prue was going to take first watch but sleep was not going to come easy for any of them. Phoebe would wake up for a little while and then pass out again. They would not know how bad her injury was until she was completely awake and it was given some time to settle.

To be continued…


	8. Rude awakening

A/N:

Thanks for the reviews and welcome to the story, pezberryfan88, CheshireCat2012, Nugiha.

Chapter 8

Rude awakening

Phoebe forced her eyes opened and felt a sharp pain in her back as she realized she was on her stomach. She felt hands on her shoulders and a soothing voice trying to comfort and keep her still. The memory of what occurred came flashing through her mind like a movie playing in fast mode and she started to breathe quickly.

"Phoebe calm down honey its over," Prue whispered as Phoebe felt herself being turned over to her side. Prue was trying to be quiet as the others were still asleep but the rustling made everyone wake from their light slumber.

"Is she ok?" Piper asks while trying to open her eyes wide to wake up.

"Could you hand me some water?" Prue asks and Piper grabbed the canteen that was getting low on fresh rain water and handed it to her. "Here Pheebe's drink this."

Phoebe took a small drink and could feel a little life come back as the rain water was cool and fresh. "Oh did someone get the license plate of that Jaguar?" Phoebe asks and tried to add humor were under normal circumstance should be none.

"No but we do have its paw prints," Prue replied and Phoebe gave a week smile. Paige was next to wake and her side was stiff and sore as she wheezed a little taking in a breath.

"Paige let me help you," Piper said and helped Paige sit up.

"I am only giving this place one star, the accommodations are horrible, the food is so so, and the local residents are not nice," Paige said while trying to take in a deep breath.

"You would give it one?" Piper asks and gave her some water while she put some hair behind Paige's ear.

"Yeah it has pretty flowers," Paige replied with a snort. "Is she ok?"

"Don't know yet, but she is awake and that's a start," Piper replied as Prue looked at Phoebe's back. She took off Piper's sleeve after removing the vine that was wrapped around her. She handed Piper her sleeve so she could clean it while she looked it over. The stitches were holding and there was little swelling and redness around the area, but that was normal. She helped Phoebe sit up and she began to rock back and forth slightly as a wave of pain came through her with a mixture of nausea as her stomach was empty for the most part. Prue could see sweat bead on her forehead as Phoebe was focused on not throwing up so she rubbed her stomach which seem to sooth the nausea and keep it down.

"Slow breaths," Prue said and moved with her while she rocked. Piper use the remaining water to clean the sleeve off and clear it of the blood that accumulated on it last night and then put it over the fire that was low but hot enough to dry it out. After about 10 minutes it was ready to put back on.

"We should let it breathe a little before we put it back on and look for some more water," Prue said as Phoebe rested her head on her forearms with her knees up.

"Maybe we can find those plants," Piper said as her grabbed the canteen and her machete that was always by her side.

"I can help," Paige said but when she tried to move she cringed and Prue immediately stopped her.

"No Paige you need to rest and let it heal. Stay with Phoebe and we will be back soon," Prue said and put her boots back on but she also cringed when she got it to her ankle.

"Prue you ok?" Piper asks as she noticed.

"Yeah just sore feet," Prue replied but inside she was worried about trench foot as her feet were showing early signs.

"Wait I need to pee," Paige said.

"One or Two?" Piper asks.

"What difference does it make?" Paige asks.

"Because I want to know if I need to wipe your ass," Piper replied.

"Sorry that's part of the sister agreement, you know holding hair up when vomiting and wiping ass," Paige said with a smug smile.

"I don't like being a sister," Piper said as she helped her stand up and then Phoebe raised her hand while her head remained still.

"I need to go number one," Phoebe said.

"Ok we all could use a potty break," Prue said and helped Phoebe to her feet with Piper helping Paige. They decided not to go too far as Prue did not want Phoebe's wound to get infected or accidentally brushed against something to irritate it. Piper did her sisterly duty and tried not to vomit in the process as one day she may need the same assistance. By the time they were finished Paige and Phoebe were exhausted just with that little activity. It was mostly because of the lack of food in their system as they were burning a tremendous amount of calories each day and the lack of water. Piper gathered some more firewood and put it on the platform so they could keep it going while she and Prue were out searching for the necessary nourishment.

"Oh if you find this tree, take off the bark because we can use it to clean wounds," Paige said and showed them a picture that looked like every tree around them for the most part, but did have unusual leafs.

"We will be back soon," Prue said and kissed both Paige and Phoebe on the head before leaving. She walked tentatively as her feet were getting used to moving for the day as Piper walked behind her. Piper's leg was sore but not painful and was glad the teeth did not penetrate deeply or Prue would be doing this alone and that scare the crap out of her. They walked for about an hour before taking a break and Piper looked at a tree and smiled when she noticed the leafs.

"Hay Prue I think this is it," Piper said and used her machete to strip the bark and take some of the fiber from behind it.

"Good eye," Prue said as she put it in the backpack.

"You know this is the world's drugstore just not in nice little pills," Piper said as she was amazed at the amount of plant life that surrounded her. She then got a look at something else that caught her eye and her smile grew even wider. "Oh my god."

"What – what is it?" Prue asks nervously because in this place that could mean anything.

"Cupuacu it's a fruit, it's like a mash potato on the inside," Piper replied as Prue let out a sigh of relief.

"Its really high up," Prue said as Piper pulled out her machete and then hacked away on a tree that was short but long enough to reach the fruit.

"What are you doing?"

"I think if I attach this to my machete, I can get it down," Piper replied and Prue started looking for vines, which was abundant in the rain forest. Prue was very cautious with touching anything as she did not want to get bit by those ants again. After Piper finished cutting down the small tree, her and Prue tied the machete to one end and hope they would reach the high branch the fruit was on.

"Piper be careful if that thing comes off, it will hit you," Prue said as she was worried about the machete breaking loose.

"I know," Piper said and kept a watchful eye as she did not want to be impaled at the moment. Finally the fruit broke loose and an entire branch came down with a least ten of them on it. She almost jumped for joy as now they had some food and needed nutrition they would get from it. They picked off each one on put it in the backpack as they began looking for water.

Back at camp Phoebe was having some issues staying awake as her body was beginning to shut down a little. Paige decided to read to her and hoped it would help get her mind off the pain for both of them as she tried to keep the mosquitoes and other flies off of Phoebe's back. She decided to move Phoebe near the smoke and that seemed to help but now that it stopped raining, the mosquitoes and other biting insects were out in force. It was too hot to put the parachute over them to keep them off and now she wanted it to rain again as she was getting quite thirsty and hungry.

"Paige if I die you can eat me," Phoebe said while smacking her arms to get the mosquitoes off.

"Ewe," Paige said as the thought of that was quite disgusting.

"You think they are ok?" Phoebe asks as she was getting nervous at them being gone and away from camp.

"Sure it just takes time to get anything here, hay do you know there are at least 70 indigenous tribes here and most of them have not been contacted by the outside world?" Paige asks while reading her book and tried to keep her mind from being overwhelmed with worry. If anything did happen to them there was nothing they could really do is they were both pretty much incapable of moving around at the moment.

"Really?" Phoebe replied and was a little amazed by that.

"It's hard to believe isn't it?"

"I don't know I haven't seen my neighbors yet and I've lived there for four years," Phoebe replied.

Paige would continue reading about plants that were poisonous and some that were good for them. How much rainfall they got each year and other neat and scary facts as the hours passed. They were both getting extremely nervous and would occasionally drift to sleep while waiting for their sisters to return. Finally after four hours Prue and Piper emerged from the forest and both Paige and Phoebe felt a huge relief come over them. The backpack seemed to be full and they were smiling, which was a good thing.

"You guys worry us," Paige said as they climbed back onto the platform.

"Sorry it just takes forever to move around here, holy crap it's hot," Piper said and put the backpack down and started emptying it. She pulled out the bark from the tree and Paige smiled as she held it in her hand. Prue grabbed the fruit and used her machete to open it. Piper was right, it looked like a mash potatoes on the inside but it tasted like a mixture of banana, melon with a hint of chocolate. But that wasn't the only fruit they found as Piper uses a lot of these in her restaurant for desserts so she could spot them quickly and pulled out her favorite, Strawberry Guava and acai berry. It was a great hunting expedition as now they had fruit that would give them vitamins and energy. They also found a few water vines that released a lot of cool liquid and was able to fill the canteen. Piper used some of the water to clean Phoebe's back while she ate some of the fruit and Prue found some bamboo that she could use to boil the bark in. she cut it to a section and it was airtight so she could put some water in it. She looked at the book that gave directions on how to make the bark useful. She used the machete against its grain to create a fibrous mesh and put it in the bamboo shoot that was 6 inches in diameter and put it over the fire. They ate and drank while the bark boiled and then Piper pulled out something that surprised all of them.

"I found this as well," she said.

"Coca plant," Paige said and smiled and then looked at Piper oddly, "Ok how did you know what it looked like missy?"

"I read and remembered my botany classes at college," she replied.

"You took botany, I've known you all my life and yet you never cease to amaze me or scare me. What are you doing in the basement?" Phoebe asks.

"It was a minor and I only took it for one semester and what I do in my basement is my business," Piper said and smiled.

"Ok not sure how this is going to help besides getting as high?" Prue asks.

"It can give you energy, and of course make you feel little euphoric," Piper replied.

"Do we need to cook it or anything?" Phoebe asks as she took the small leaf in her hand.

'Nope just chew it, and it won't be as potent as cocaine just don't swallow it and make sure to spit out the juice," Piper replied.

"I will save this for later, right now I want that one," Phoebe said and pointed to another plant that they found that supposedly reduces pain.

"Here we need to rub it in our hands first and eat the pulp," Paige said as she grabbed some herself.

"This fruit is amazing," Paige said as she ate her fill.

"We got lucky," Piper said as Prue took off her boots and rubbed her feet that have seen better days. "Prue you should stay off of your feet for a while."

"Its ok Piper its just not used to this kind of climate or workout," Prue replied and put her feet near the fire as Piper did the same to keep them dry. She could see large white spots on the bottom of Prue's foot and they looked like a prune. She did not know what trench foot was opposed to look like but this might be the start of it. Her feet seemed to be ok for now as she looked at the bottom, but they were tender and looked like they have been in the water too long.

"Maybe tomorrow you could go looking for a termite nests, it's supposed to heal that," Paige said as she looked in her little book.

"Yeah I'm pretty exhausted and it's getting late, I can't believe we've been here for four days and have made almost no headway," Piper said as she put more wood on the fire and grabbed the boiling water that had the bark in it. "Ok Phoebe lets put this on once it cools."

"Thanks," Phoebe said and was thankful to have her sisters with her and how they were taking care of and Paige. She ate her fill of fruit and drank some water as Piper got everything ready to cover her wound again. Paige made sure to keep it dry while they were gone and as Phoebe ate the pulp from the plant Piper poured on some clean boiled water as it was still warm, and then dries the area with one of her sleeves and used the other to put over the stitched up one. The pulp did its work of numbing the pain a little but not completely and it made her feel a little dazed, like she was a little drunk. Paige did the same as Piper finished up making sure the wound was perfectly sealed from the outside elements and lowered her shirt. She would wait for night to come so she could see the beacon that was high in the sky and marked its location with a twig along with using the compass. It was time for another long night as they would have to take turns staying awake to keep an eye on the fire and the Jaguar that might still be around. Prue mentioned that they did not throw the snake parts far enough away from camp and that is why it was around during the day when it normally hunts at night. She took the first watch as she was worried about Prue's feet and knew she need to rest them and thoughts of her children and husband kept her company along with the sounds of the forest. She would periodically put wood on the fire to keep it going and would drink some of the water to quench her thirst while she waited patiently to wake Prue up. She felt dirty and needed a bath in a major way as all of them did for the most part. The rain helped but once it stopped the heat and humidity made them sweat profusely. Paige and Phoebe fell asleep very quickly because of the plants they ate and were thankful that it helps with the pain, but they were acting a little silly before falling asleep. Piper needed a boost of energy as she was drifting away herself and decided to eat one of the cocoa plants. She put it in her mouth and chewed and almost gagged on the taste as she spit out the juice. It gave her a slight boost for about an hour and it also made her a little nauseous, so she decided to spit the whole thing out and knew it was an acquired taste. She could not keep her eyes open any longer and let her head fall but then she woke up suddenly and as she adjusted her eyesight for the darkness they was a white painted face staring right back at her. She jumped back as she heard voices in a different language speaking and at first she thought it was the plant giving her hallucinations as Prue woke up because of the noise. They were carrying torches and stood in the center of the camp as Piper was debating on whether to pull out her machete or just wait and see. She could not run as her other sisters were injured and would not leave them alone. Prue moved next to Piper and put her hand on hers.

"Don't do anything," Prue whispered as a man came up the ladder carrying a torch and a spear.

"Geographic?" he asks and they just stared at him for a moment, "You from geographic?"

"National Geographic?" Piper asks as she was not sure and just made a guess and he nodded with a smile.

"Yes we are from National Geographic," Prue said and hoped he would buy it.

"You late but we found," he said as his English was choppy at best, but it was English.

"Thank you," Prue said as the men and women looked at their platform critiquing it in a way. The others could not speak any English as they looked over the binding.

"My sisters are hurt," Prue said slowly so he would understand." Big snake and Jaguar," she continued and the minute the he heard Jaguar's eyes widened and he started giving orders to the group. He was pointing to the sides and the men hunched over and put their spears in front of them thinking that the Jaguar was still there." Its gone we hurt it," she said and the man looked relieved. He then told a man to come over to him and told him something that she could not understand. The man with two others started using the spikes and other materials to make what looked like strictures.

"We carry to camp," he said as he pointed to Paige and Phoebe who were still sound asleep. Prue nodded but she had no idea who these people were or if they were friendly. It was common for National Geographic and other explorers to stay with these tribes on occasion to learn about their ways. But they had no camera gear and that did not go unnoticed by what seemed to be the chief or leader of the group.

"Bags?" he asks.

"We lost it on the river," Prue replied referring to the so-called camera gear. His face lowered a little bit but then he smiled and patted her shoulder.

"Come," he said and Prue dreaded the walk as her feet were still hurting. Some of the men came up the platform to gather Paige and Phoebe and Piper stayed very close to them the whole time.

"Piper relax they think we are from National Geographic so play along," Prue whispered as the leader of the group noticed Prue's feet. He pulled something out of a makeshift carrier that look like mud that was in a leaf. He rubbed it on the bottom of her feet and she immediately felt relief. She smiled at him as he nodded while she put her boots back on with the mud still on her feet. It worked like some kind of barrier between the sole of her foot in the boot itself. Piper gathered their things put them in the backpack, as Paige and Phoebe were gently and put on the structures they made very quickly and started the walk to the other camp. Piper could not believe how her sisters remained asleep the whole time as they were being moved, but in way she was thankful they were not awake as she was on edge herself.

To be continued…


	9. Learning the ways

A/N:

Thanks for the reviews and I fixed the spelling in the last chapter. Thanks for catching that Liz.

Chapter 9

Learning the ways

Four men carried both Paige and Phoebe on the makeshift stretchers and Piper with Prue walked behind them into the night through the dark forest. They moved with ease and were completely barefoot which blew Piper's mind away as she was terrified of stepping on something that would bite. Some were wearing T-shirts with shorts and others were just wearing shorts but they all had their face painted white with some red paint under their eyes. Prue asks the only one who could speak English and seemed to be the leader why they did that, his reply was that it helps keep the evil spirits away and if one got lost they could see him more clearly because the paint was somewhat reflective. Prue told him that was clever and she would love to learn more. She wasn't just saying that to fall into the role of them thinking they were from National Geographic, Prue was actually interested. Maybe she wanted to outdo Andy when it came to the survival front, or she by nature is such a curious person like Paige. They walked for seem like forever at least another five hours periodically stopping to pick up supplies, like vines or leafs that they needed. It was the true meaning of hunting and gathering to make their time more efficient when having to leave their village. Finally they approached a well-lit wide opening with a few small and one's large hut that put their little sheltered to shame and everyone in the village seemed to be awake. Piper could no longer stand as her legs burned and her lungs ached and sat down near the fire with Prue as the men put Phoebe and Paige down gently.

"They're not even breathing hard," Piper said as a woman gave her a bowl made out of wood with water in it. "Thank you," she said but the woman just gestured for her to drink it as she could not understand what she said. Piper took a drink of the refreshing liquid and then handed it to Prue who was also exhausted. They have not had a full night sleep since they arrived and it was starting to catch up to them, but the people of the village seemed to be wide-eyed and bushy tailed excited about their arrival.

Prue checked Phoebe's temperature to make sure she didn't have a fever by placing the back of her hand on Phoebe's forehead." They move really fast through that even at night, I would be scared to death to step on something," Prue said and took off her boots to clean off the mud compound that dried a little.

"Did that help?" Piper asks.

"Definitely, I don't think I could've made the walk if this stuff wasn't on my feet," Prue replied as Paige began to stir. She sat up and blinked a few times as she took in her new surroundings. "Wow that stuff gives you weird dreams, I felt like I was floating and there were all these voices that I couldn't understand," she said and then saw the villagers staring right back at her.

"Paige they are friendly and they think we are explorers or scientist, so play along," Piper said but Paige was still a little confused.

"How did we get here?"

"They brought you so they could eat you later," Piper replied and smiled.

"That is not funny," Paige said as Prue hand her the bowl of water as Phoebe also began to wake.

"What's going on?" Phoebe asks as she sat up slowly and took a good look around.

"A tribe found us," Prue replied.

"I like the size of my head, its proportionate to my body," Phoebe whispered as she started getting a little frightened.

"Oh for god's sake Phoebe there not headhunters, they think we are from National Geographic," Prue whispered back as the chief approached them.

"You sleep in hut," he said and pointed to the large hut.

"Thank you," Prue said and helped Phoebe to her feet while Piper helped Paige. A man approached them noticing that two were injured. He was dressed slightly different as he had bright colored feathers on his head that were wrapped in a band. His face was not painted white because he was not with the search party but he did have some abstract design tattoos on his face that were around his eye and carried a long staff that was also adorned with feathers and what look like beautiful plants. He spoke to the chief and then he translated for them.

"He will fix," the chief said and pointed to Paige and Phoebe.

"Ok, she has a broken rib and she was attacked by a jaguar," Prue said identifying which one had what injury.

"He fix," the chief said and they led them to the large hut. Two men helped Phoebe to her stomach while another helped Paige sit down. One of the men started taking off Paige's shirt and she immediately became defensive.

"Hay you didn't even buy me dinner yet," Paige said while struggling with the man who was laughing.

"Paige did you notice that none of the women are wearing clothing that covers the top part of them," Piper said and Paige looked around the hut and could see way too many breast for her liking. "Let them help you," she said and Paige finally relinquished her grasp on her shirt but it did not keep her from blushing. From what Piper could tell he was the medicine man and probably knew how to heal injuries better than they could at this point. Women brought in a variety of things to help with that effort and she was astonished at how well they work together while they put a better wrap around Paige's rips and gave her something to drink that was not water. She could tell by her sister's expression that did not taste good as they finished up. One was saying some kind of prayer while blowing smoke on top of Paige's head. Phoebe's back was also getting very specialized treatment as the used would look like glue around her stitches, they then used the same bark that was torn into fibers and then boiled in water to clean it. Then they smooshed large leafs down onto the wound creating a seal as Phoebe winced and tried to keep from screaming from the pain. Once they were finished some of the villagers left the hut while others remain behind. There was a little girl that kept looking at Piper and at that moment she really began to miss her children.

"Look at how woven this is," Prue said as she admired the floor that was not dirt but instead look like a woven basket made of wood and vines.

"It's beautiful," Piper said as she admired it as well and she lay down while resting her head on a makeshift pillow. She had no idea what soft material was inside that was covered by leafs, but did not care as she was too tired to stay awake. Prue was also exhausted and lay right next to Piper and put her arms around her waist for more comfort. Paige and Phoebe also fell back to sleep as their medicines kicked in relieving some of the pain but mostly making them very tired. It was not a quiet night as they could hear babies crying children singing and people talking, but it would all fade into the background as their bodies finally gave in and so did their minds to rest.

It was morning now and the village was already preparing for the day as Prue awoke first. She had no idea how long she was asleep or even what time it was as she looked over at Paige who was already awake and talking to the medicine man. He was showing her a variety of plants but he was speaking his language and would repeat things many times, as Paige would nod and repeat what he said in hopes to understand him. She looked much better and was even getting some of her color back. She looked over to where Phoebe was sleeping and then saw the spot was empty and her heart almost jumped out of her chest as she got to her feet and ran out of the hut accidentally waking Piper.

"What – what is it?" Piper asks as she groggily got up as her mind was not catching up to the events as fast as her body and she staggered once she got up. Her back was killing her from sleeping on a hard surface as she liked a very soft bed. She leaned back and the noises made from that made everyone in the hut laugh. "Yeah yeah I'm old," Piper said.

"Phoebe is outside," Paige said noticing that Prue was worried.

"What she is still really hurt," Prue said and continued to run outside as Piper tried to get her legs to function but the minute she saw she was not wearing any boots she put them on. Prue stepped outside and was hit by the all familiar heat and humidity that was now intensified by the sun that was not being blocked out by the canopy. She covered her eyes to give them time to adjust to the bright sunlight and then saw Phoebe sitting around some of the villagers and she seemed happy.

"Phoebe are you ok?" Prue asks as she walked up to her.

"Yeah I feel a lot better, I mean it still hurts a little but not near as much," Phoebe replied.

"What are you doing?" Prue asks.

"I think they are telling me stories of when the ran into a jaguar, but it's hard to understand," Phoebe replied as a man came over to Prue and gestured her to sit down as he brought over a wood bowl with some food on it. None of it she could make out as Phoebe pointed to what look like a cornstalk.

"That is really good," Phoebe said.

"Oh ok," Prue said as she tore away the burnt outer layer to reveal what looked like a long potato. She took a bite and Phoebe was right it tasted like a pineapple but also had a sweet taste to it." Thank you," she said and smiled. It would have been rude to turn the food down and after everything they have help them with so far, she was not about to do that. Piper came and sat next to Phoebe and another villager gave her the same plate of food.

"Thank you," Piper said and the man nodded.

"They are so nice, I mean I know how hard it is to find food here and they just give it to us," Phoebe said as she ate the last bit on her leaf plate.

"A lot of cultures use food as a way of gratitude and sharing," Piper said.

"How's Paige?" Phoebe asks.

"Good she is already talking to the medicine man from what I can tell," Prue replied.

"Does she stop for one second," Piper said as Paige came out of the hut.

"Hello fellow geographers," Paige said and they all just rolled their eyes.

"So do we need to call you the medicine woman?" Piper asks while Paige sat down slowly while holding her side.

"Sharman," Paige replied and rolled her neck to get out the kinks.

"Does anymore know what this tribe is called?" Prue asks while the chief sat down across from them.

"Huaorani Spirit of the Jaguar," the chief replied and smiled at Phoebe who could not help but see the irony.

"This must be one of the smaller settlements," Paige said as she was looking in her little book.

"How many are there?" Piper asks.

"150,000," Paige replied.

"Wow," Phoebe said.

"You lean to make better hut," the chief said pointing to Prue.

"I think he is saying you suck," Piper said and nudged her.

"We have great ritual when moon up," he said and everyone seemed to be happy about that except for them who had no idea what he was talking about. So they just nodded in appreciation as Prue was being brought to her feet by a couple of villagers who were carrying machetes and some building material.

"I expect our shelters to look like this," Piper said while pointing to a few huts.

"Don't get your hopes up," Prue said as one man handed her a machete.

"You cook," the chief said her pointing to Piper and both Phoebe and Paige giggled.

"Why do I have this feeling he is going to tell me to clean," Phoebe said as a few men came over to her and put a spear in her hand.

"Phoebe I think you should take it easy," Piper said.

"Piper I'm fine and I get to hunt," Phoebe said proudly.

"I always end up in the kitchen," Piper said with a snort.

"They are teaching me all the different methods for healing, it's fascinating," Paige said as the chief nodded and smiled at her. "You know the women are responsible for building the shelters and pretty much everything that involves the village, while the men hunt but sometimes the women do go and gather with them," she said and again the chief nodded.

"Well don't let the woman's Lib come here or they will have a nervous breakdown," Piper said as she got up to follow a couple of women to a fire.

"It's not like that, both jobs are extremely important for the survival of the village, one is not better than the other, they need each other," Paige said as she was starting to understand how these people survived for so long. Piper knew that Paige has a lot of respect for different cultures but for Piper it all comes down to how they treated each other but from what she could tell it seemed that Paige was right as she saw a man hand a woman a flower and she blushed. Love is love anywhere in the world and always has the same telltale signs in any culture.

"Why does Phoebe get to hunt?" Piper asks as Phoebe was a woman.

"Because she survived the Jaguar, and their think she's lucky," Paige replied as Piper was scooted off to the fire.

Prue was working intensely as some women were weaving Palm leafs and then using vine to security each section. She could tell they have been doing this for a long time as it seemed effortless and managed to not get cut by the sharp leafs. One handed her some material and she tried to duplicate what she saw, but immediately was slapped on the hand when she started it wrong. She could not help but laugh a little as it reminded her of a schoolgirl being slapped on the wrist. She concentrated as they would help guide her hand while the leafs would be woven into a beautiful piece of art, that would make a great floor or a wall to keep out all the bad things that come out at night. Paige was working the Sharman by combined roots and leafs along with bark to make a variety of medicines. Anything from curing a headache to nausea. He would put his hand on his stomach to indicate what the concoction was for and then put his hand on his head to indicate another. Paige was understanding the sign language as it was the only way they could communicate without the chief. Piper recognizes some of the fruit that she used in her restaurant and could feel a connection as they were worlds away. They would mix it with other flowers and even meat from god knows what but the taste was actually very good. Most of all it was how they prepared and wrapped it using the leafs to steam and it gave a unique flavor. Not everything was delectable as she tried to swallow and keep it down but food is food and some of it gives quite a lot of energy, almost like one of those five hour energy drinks. She was in the same situation as her other sisters when it came to the language barrier, but she knew food and could get the gist pretty quickly. They had her help in preparing a feast for tonight and she was honored because in her home, she usually did all the cooking when it came to a big family dinner and would not relinquish her control over it easily. She would periodically glance over and see Prue getting her hand slapped as she was clearly doing something wrong and Paige smashing things in a bowl while the Sharman would guide her as well.

Phoebe was not that far from camp mostly because of her injury, but they spotted some wild pig earlier in the morning and wanted her to come because they thought she was lucky. She was having difficulty keeping up with them and at one point one of them climbed a tree and could not believe the amount of strength the man had. She remembered doing that when she was a child but had to use the limbs to even ascend, but he was just using the trunk and his feet to climb as there was some fruit at the top. She then heard the familiar sound of the pig squeal that was a few feet from her. Most of the men were quite a ways ahead of her and she did not want to scare it away by yelling for them. She could see it through the brush and knew it was going to be a hard shot, but she took a chance as it would probably run in their direction anyway and timed her toss so it was in more of a clearing. She held her breath and took aim at the unexpected pig. Then she released and the spear just missed trunks of trees and other foliage as it hit the pig and it squealed in pain while trying to run, but one of the men heard it and managed to grab it before it got too far. The man held it up over his head and was almost singing as the other men patted her on the back. She could not help but cry a little as she was able to help them find food and was overwhelmed with gratitude. They gather their things and headed back to camp with smiling faces as this was not normal to find such a great meal just outside of Camp. Once she arrived with the man holding the pig over his head everyone was clearly happy about the catch and some women grabbed it so they could start preparing it. Piper helped to the gutting and even showed them how to do a rub to give it more flavor. Phoebe was telling Prue about her lucky shot when she noticed a large snake with a diamond shape head hanging over one of the roof of a hut and was very close to the man. She pulled out her machete and without thinking tossed it at the snake. The man stopped talking as he felt the breeze go past his cheek and the machete sticking out of the hut a few inches from his face. The other men immediately pointed their spears and machetes at Phoebe while two held in her in place and the others held Piper, Prue and Paige as they tried to run to her or help her.

"Oh shit," Piper said while struggling to get free.

To be continued…


	10. Night of the Jaguar

Chapter 10

Night of the Jaguar

"Let her go!" Piper yelled as she was still being held tightly.

"Wait – wait I wasn't trying to kill him, snake," Phoebe said as the chief looked where the machete was embedded. A large body with a short tail and a triangular-shaped headed snake was hanging off the wall only being held up by the machete that was right behind its head.

"Bushmaster," the chief said and everyone lowered their spears and the man that was about to be bit moved away quickly as it was still moving but dead. The men let go of the girls and they ran to Phoebe who was relieved that they did not kill first and asks later. The chief pulled the machete out of the wall of the hut and then cut the head of the snake off and tossed it on the fire, leaving the body intact so they could eat it. The man that she just saved came over to her and put his hands on her shoulders that were still a little shaky and said something in his language. She figured he was saying thank you and she put her hands on his arms while smiling.

"Good shot," Prue said.

"Thank God you didn't miss," Piper said as she would have known the outcome if she would have accidentally hit the man.

"Yeah me too," Phoebe said and took in a deep breath.

"Great now they will make you queen or something," Paige said with a snort.

"Been there done that," Phoebe said and she walked over to the big hut so she could relax as her back was starting to hurt. Paige took a look at it with the Sharman and cleaned it up again, making sure to seal the area but would let it breathe first.

"Do you think we should go find a tribe that does do head shrinking, you know just in case," Prue asks Piper and they joined her in the hut to get out of the heat. Paige also needed to relax as her side was getting sore while Prue and Piper put their feet near the fire because it would help with the potential foot fungus. The men found a termite nest and put it in the fire so its smoke would heal it if they had it. The smoke also helps with keeping down the mosquitoes and flies. Piper let out a loud belch while hitting her chest with her fist.

"Ewe," Paige said as it was quite loud and a little disgusting.

"Sorry hart burn," Piper said and realizes she needed go to the bathroom. She headed out and found a place that did not have villagers looking at her, but knew better than to go very far. She was looking at the forest floor trying to find a place that she could do her business and did not see the spider web to her side. She dunked under a branch and went right up to the large web that of course had a large spider on it. It was the size of her hand and was now attached to the side of her head. She felt the familiar feeling of a like tickle on her face and knew she walked into a web, but most of all she could feel wait on the side of her head. She immediately went pale as she stumbled out of the forest while screaming. Her hart burn was now becoming something more as she felt her chest tightened and her breathes becomes shallow. Her entire body was going week and her legs just felt like Jell-O. Her sisters came running out of the hut and saw Piper go to her knees while holding her chest as some of the villagers surrounded her. One could see the large spider on her and used a stick to get it off. It moved over Piper's face and now she got a good look at her fear as its body covered half her face and its feet with from ear to ear. She could even see its fangs that were debating on whether or not to bite as the man pushed it again with the stick and it crawled off and to the ground. She could feel its hairy legs move a crossed her face which just made her heart ache even more as she went to her back.

"Piper!" Prue yelled as she ran to her while the spider ran off into the forest. She got to her knees and Piper was holding her chest having major issues with breathing." Oh god I need an aspirin!" Prue yelled thinking she was having a heart attack. Paige was on the other side while Phoebe was holding her head. Piper's pupils were large and were not focused on anything as she seemed to be struggling to breathe.

"Piper talk to me," Prue pleaded as she held her hand that felt cold and clammy. Piper was sweating profusely and was trying to speak and using her free hand to get off any of the spider web that still remained on her.

"Sp-," she tried to say but it was a stutter and she couldn't even say the word.

"Spider," Prue said and now she was thinking that she got bit, "What do we do?" she asks the chief who just looked at her somberly.

"Are you saying a spider bit her?" Paige asks and was about to vomit considering the amount of venomous spiders in the Amazon. Piper then belched again and was starting to get her breathing back as her hart started going back into its normal rhythm. She then sat up and started frantically brushing herself off and running her hands through her hair like someone possessed.

"Is it off?" Piper yelled and looked at the ground in all directions. Prue put her hands on her shoulders and Piper put her hand to her chest again and wrinkled her face a little in pain.

"Sweetie you need to calm down, its gone," Prue said and took Piper back to the hut as Piper still kept looking around.

"It was the size of my face," Piper said through breaths while her whole body shook.

"I know honey, but did it bite you?" Prue asks as she too was trembling.

"What, no I don't think so," She replied as Paige gave her some water.

"Was it a tarantula?" Paige asks as she was starting to get the heebie-jeebies as well.

"I don't know Paige, it was big really really big," Piper replied as she started rocking back and forth while catching her breath.

"You afraid of jungle," the chief said and sat down across from her.

"Oh yeah," Piper said while nodding her head.

"I thought you were having a heart attack," Prue said and took a drink of water to calm herself.

"It felt like it, but I think it's just the hart burn," Piper said and belched again." And I still need to pee, but I am not going alone," she said and grabbed Prue's arm to make her stand up. They finally came back from doing what she meant to do in the beginning and it took three times as long as Piper was looking at everything around her and made Prue cut down a lot of things that even looked like it could have a spider near it. She came back but was still creeped out as she looked at the floor continuously and could still feel its legs on her face and see the fangs like daggers in her mind. The day moved on as they prepared the dinner and other ceremonial things that they would need for tonight. The women got the sisters ready for the evening by painting their faces and arms each one of them would get different designs. A little girl who was about three years old came up to Piper and gave her a beautiful flower that was red and yellow.

"Thank you, its beautiful," Piper said and tucked the stem over the top part of her ear, which pleased the girl who smiled wide while the mother smiled as well. Once the girl and mother went away she leaned over to Paige," it's not poisonous is it?" she whispered.

"No you're not going to grow a second head or anything," Paige replied and just shacked her head side to side. The girls were taken outside to the main fire were the pig was being cooked for over three hours. Piper took in its sent and closed her eyes as she knew it was going to be a good dinner. Everyone sat in a circle around the fire as some men took the pig off the large branch it was cooking on and began to cut out portions. They gave Phoebe the hart as she was the one who killed it. Normally it would have been eaten raw but because of how large it was and that they were not used to the custom, they decided to cook it but it was still a hart.

"To the victor go the spoils," Piper said and gave her a sideways smile.

"I hate you," Phoebe said and smiled back as she cut into it. Some blood oozed out and she just tried not to think about it as she took her first bite. It tasted like metal and was tough, but she swallowed her bite and everyone seemed to be happy about that. She then was handed some of the actual meat from the pig. Piper's rub that was made of the herbs made it tender and delightful, that even the villagers seem to enjoy it. Piper let the perfectly cooked flesh sit in her mouth for a moment while she closed her eyes.

"Oh this is good," she said while starting to chew.

"Yes it is," Prue chimed in.

They all sat and enjoyed the meal while they made jokes about Piper's spider incident and the men showed off their scars of fighting various things in the jungle. Piper glances at her leg and could see just a few scratches and decided not to share hers. Once the dinner was finished the Sharman began to make some kind of concoction and this time Paige was not permitted to assist as the group started doing a dance and chanting.

"A nice dinner and a show," Phoebe said as she enjoyed the song, even though she couldn't understand what they were saying, it had a nice sound to. The little girl came back to Piper and took the flower out of her hair and smiled again and then ran off to the Sharman and gave it to him. Piper was confused just as much as her sisters were as the Sharman and the chief walked over to her. He had a short piece of bamboo and it look like a tube and filled it with the powdery concoction from the bowl the Sharman was holding. Two men came behind Piper and made her stand up.

"What's going on?" Piper asks.

"You afraid of jungle, you need a spirit walk," he replied and before she could say anything he blew the powdery substance up her nose and her head shot back.

"Piper?" Phoebe asks as her sister was now being let down to the ground as the chanting got louder.

"What did you do to her?" Prue asks as she got to her feet.

"Trance," he replied and began to sway in a circular motion while chanting something she cannot understand. Piper's eyes were wide open and almost seemed to be convulsing but it was slight, more like trying to stand up but could not.

"Is she ok?" Phoebe asks Paige.

"I don't know, he never told me about this," Paige replied.

Piper could see everyone around but they were blurry and doubled as the chanting was mixing with the sound of the forest in some kind of weird perfect rhythm. Vivid colors were filling the spaces between the people until finally they all faded away and all that was left was a kaleidoscope of purples and yellows until that faded as well. She was standing alone as sounds of the jungle were intensified that she could make out every insect and every mammal that made it. In the distance were bright green eyes peeking through the forest and a low growl. She could see every detail of every tree and leaf and it was no longer night time as the sun was out and was making everything light up like a jewel. She wasn't concerned about the ground or the green eyes; she was too fascinated looking at the leafs that had a tree cutter ant on it. She could hear it chew and see it cut away a portion of the leaf as the sound of thousands of feet was beneath her. There was a line of cut up leafs moving with aunts carrying them and she smiled as she followed the direction they were going. She moved branches out of her way without concern as she was careful not to step on any of them, until finally she arrived at a large tree with a trunk as big as her house and vines wrapped themselves lovingly around it. The ants went up as flowers bloomed from the vines and almost made her weep because of all the surreal colors. Deep rich brown from the tree trunk was competing with the bright green from the leafs moving up it. Fruit formed on the large branches that covered the sky as monkeys and other animals picked them off to eat them. Then she felt the cooling rain hit her hand and when she took a closer examination at the droplet, it reflected everything around her. She looked down at her feet and for a moment froze as hundreds of spiders climbed the tree and began to do their webbing in fast motion, while the rain drops gathered on it and the reflection was tripled as the entire forest came into view. Giant waterfalls that fell into large crevasses of clean pure blue water. Her fear faded because of the beauty that was more overwhelming. She had no idea what was going on but she felt like she was floating and even the birds song was like Mozart. The small growl became slightly louder along with a little girls scream. She turned towards the direction the noise came from and the forest opened so she could easily pass. The maker of the growl was a Jaguar that had a hold of the little girl that gave her the flower by the shirt and was pulling her into the forest, but stopped when it saw Piper. She said nothing and just went to her knees as she stretched out her hand and it looked right into her eyes. Piper did not know why she was not afraid as it came to her but seemed to be injured as it limped slightly from its back leg. It stopped a few inches from her while breathing heavily.

"Its ok I understand," she said and it turned sideways and lay down at her knees. It was then she could see the injury that was caused by a spear from what she could tell. It laid his head on the ground and she began to stroke its soft fur while its breathing slowed. She could tell it was dying and knew it did not want to be alone. She lay down next to it and wrapped her arm around its abdomen while putting her head on its shoulder. She could feel its chest move up and down slowly until it finally stopped. She awoke in the hut and blinked rapidly smacking her lips together because of the lack of moisture.

"Piper oh god are you ok?" Paige asks as her other sisters ran to her. But she was completely dazed and just looked at them like they were strangers. One of the women from the village came in with her three-year-old child and then hugged her out of the blue. Piper was starting to feel nauseous and Prue could tell she was about to get sick.

"Ok we need to get her outside," Prue said and helped Piper up who was still very dazed. She made it to the tree line and then emptied her stomach as Prue held up her hair.

"It's the side effect of the drug," Paige said while rubbing Piper's back. After she was finished they helped her back to the hut and gave her water to keep her from dehydrating. Finally after about 20 minutes Piper spoke.

"I had a weird dream," she said while taking another drink.

"Do you remember anything?" Prue asks as the other villagers stood quietly watching her.

"Yeah a lot of colors and it was so vivid and beautiful," Piper replied trying to rack her brain as the memory was fading.

"Honey do you remember getting up in the middle of the night?" Phoebe asks.

"I don't know Phoebe, did I?" Piper asks.

"You saved that little girl from the Jaguar, the mother said you just kneeled down and it walked over to you and then lay down and died while you held it," Prue replied.

"What?" Piper asks only remembering bits and pieces," I thought it was a dream."

"I think some of it was, but at some point you got up after they gave you the drug to induce a trance. No one else heard the Jaguar or the little girl as she was pulled from the other hut. The mother woke up and saw she was gone and when she could hear noises coming from the forest, she ran and found you and the Jaguar on the ground," Paige replied.

"Honestly I don't remember," Piper said and looked at the mother who was almost crying as she held her little girl who was not injured. The chief came in with the skin of the Jaguar and put it around Piper and then hugged her.

"You no longer afraid," he said and stood up.

"How long was I out?" Piper asks.

"Two days," Prue replied and then Piper got a whiff of herself.

"Oh god I stink," she said as she looked at the skin of the Jaguar and admired its beauty.

"We know," Phoebe said and laughed as she hugged her." You scared me."

"It's the one I injured when it attacked Phoebe," Prue said while pointing to the small hole on its fur.

"We think it followed us from our camp," Paige said.

"I guess it didn't want to die alone," Piper said as she let her hand slide over its soft fur and felt for it. Even though he was about to eat a child, it was food and survival but in the end it was no different than any living thing and just wanted comfort.

"Someone needs a bath," Paige said and helped Piper up to a standing position and she felt a little lightheaded. "Take your time, because you have not had food or water for two days."

"My pants are falling off," Piper said as she looked down and could see that her clothing is quite loose as all of them have lost at least 5 to 6 pounds.

"The ultimate weight loss program, throw people in the Amazon that will do it," Paige said.

Piper and her sisters went to a part of the forest that the villagers used for water and for cleaning. There was a waterfall and a small pool that gathered beneath it. Prue helped Piper get undressed and put on a white robe made of plant material but seem like cotton.

"Its cold so be ready," Prue said as she helped her get under it. The cold water was a shock at first but then it felt extremely good as Prue used the soap they made to clean her up. She closed her eyes and let her sister take care of her. All the dirt and grime came off and she was already feeling much better as the water cascaded down her head and body. Paige and Phoebe were in the pool as men gathered water from the waterfall.

"You know this kind of reminds me of a vacation advertisement," Phoebe said.

"Yeah but they leave out the giant spiders, venomous snakes and drug-induced trances," Paige said as she used the soap to clean herself.

"We need to get moving soon, I really miss my kids and husband," Phoebe said.

"Prue and I think we should leave tomorrow, once Piper is okay to travel and you," Paige said.

"Sounds good and how is your rib?"

"It is still sore but manageable," she replied.

"They took the stitches out last night and they said it should be fine," Phoebe said referring to her injury.

Piper and Prue join them in the pool and just sat back and relaxed in the cool water that was free from anything that could eat them or hurt them. Tomorrow would be another day as they would step forth once more into the jungle to find a way home.

To be continued…


	11. Back to the Jungle

Chapter 11

Back to the Jungle

It was time to leave the safety of the tribe and head back out into the deep claustrophobic forest. The chief told them that not all tribes are friendly and that they should take the river. They already have a raft they can use, but the beacon was decided on when they started, but they were not going to argue about that in front of them. They guided them down to the river base and gave them some supplies that Paige put in her backpack. Phoebe gave the chief a portion of the flint to help make fires and he was very thankful as making flame in the rain forest was difficult at best. Prue could now make many different types of shelters and Paige had some useful knowledge about plants and what they can do. Piper learned how to cook an assortment of roots and plants in case they cannot find meat. The tribe was happy that they came because they liked to share their knowledge with the world and wished them a safe trip. Paige's ribs were still sore but she could movie much better without pain. Prue's feet were basically fungus free and Piper was not as afraid of the jungle as she was when she first got there but she still had a healthy respect for the dangers that presided in it. Once the tribe was gone they had a decision to make about what they were going to do.

"We agreed on the beacon," Piper said with her arms folded.

"I know Piper but we should use the river right now, it will be faster and much easier," Prue said while matching her sisters posturing.

"Prue's right we should at least try," Phoebe said and even Piper was a little astonished that she agreed with her.

"Fine but we have no idea what we will run into, like large waterfalls or rapids," Piper said and started getting herself ready for the river ride. The raft was long and they would need to sit in a line as two would paddle. Prue gingerly stepped on it and moved to the front while Paige was second and then Phoebe and Piper taking up the rear. Because of Phoebe's back still being tender but healing well, Piper would do the rowing in the back. The water was moving at a manageable speed but was very muddy and it makes Piper very nervous as she did not like being this close to the water after her incident with the Cayman.

"You know Piper its not common for them to attack people on rafts and we will camp during the night, so don't be worried," Paige said noticing her sister's uneasiness.

"Tell that to my leg," Piper said and pushed them off the shoreline and they were on their way down the river. It was definitely better than hacking and slicing through the jungle and help with Paige's claustrophobia as they was sky above them. Prue was shown how to tell time by using the sun and her hand by flattening it and then moving it down about an inch from the bottom of the sun until it hit the top of the horizon. Each inch represented an hour of daylight left, but that only works when the sun was out and if they could see it. They needed to find a good place to park the raft and had to be mindful of flash floods that would occur even if it was not raining on them, it could be raining behind them and the water would rise significantly. They need at least two hours to set up camp which included making a shelter, fire and finding food.

"Row – row – row your boat gently down the stream," Paige started singing to help with the boredom of just sitting there as Prue and Piper did the paddling.

"Shut it," Piper cut her off before she got started with the rest of it.

"Well you no fun," Paige said and felt some water hit her back that Piper used her paddle to toss on her.

"I'm loads of fun," Piper laughed a little.

Prue was staying focused on everything in front of them as floating logs and large rocks would occasionally be in their path, at least she hoped they were floating logs as some looked like crocodiles from a distance. The chief told her to look for bubbles as that could be a good indicator of one being just under the surface or it could be a turtle, but some of those will snap your hand off if you're not careful. He also said stay away from tree limbs as snakes would stay there doing the day and could fall on you if you go under them. She took the opportunity to see what time it was and used her hand to give an idea. "Guys we only have about an hour before we need to start looking for a place," she said.

"You know this is kind of creepy," Phoebe said as she looked at anything in the water that move or just looked ominous.

"You think," Piper said while trying to keep her mind off of something coming up and grabbing her. The raft was just wide enough for them to sit on and was low to the water. They were lucky as there were no rapids are waterfalls as of yet and after an hour found a shoreline that they could put the raft on. There was also good access to the jungle so they could get some material to make the shelter. Bamboo grew along the river and it was the best building material and numerous of other things that it could be used for. So far they were also lucky in it not raining as they paddled over to the shoreline and got off one by one. Piper pulled the raft onto the dirt and then used the rope that they gave them to tie it up on a large tree so it would not go floating away in the middle of the night.

"Ok first we need to make A-frame shelter, I think we will make two and sleep in doubles like we did the first night," Prue suggested and they all agreed but Prue was the only one who knew how to make it.

"How long does it take?" Piper asks.

"I think we can have it done it about an hour and a half if someone helps me," Prue replied and Phoebe raised her hand.

"Paige and I will go looking for something to eat," Piper said.

"Oh goody," Paige said and followed Piper into the forest while Phoebe and Prue started cutting down bamboo and some other branches to make the A-frame shelters.

"What do we do first?" Phoebe asks as she laid out some of the material.

"First we make an A," she replied and put two branches that she cut making sure they had a Y at the ends and then set them at a 45° angle. She then put a short piece in the center and used the vine she collected and tied the wood together making a large A. She made another identical to the first and then put a long piece of bamboo stretching across it on the top so they could have a roof. Phoebe paid attention and understood the concept as she started working on the other one. They then used two long pieces on both sides of the frame and once it was set, they used vine and wrapped it around them to make a base for the bed that was off the ground about 3 feet. To make it more sturdy, she used bamboo to create a platform to lay on with the support of the vines underneath it. Phoebe used the leafs from the bamboo and large firms to start the roof. She remembered how Piper did it the last time and it worked very efficiently by layering them but also staggering those layers. She split the large leaf down the middle and it created a natural schinkel system. Prue wanted to weave them but they did not have time as the light was fading.

"Where are Piper and Paige, they've been gone for a while?" Phoebe asks while finishing up her shelter as Prue was doing the same with hers.

"They will be back and hopefully with something to eat, we were on that river for over six hours and I am getting hungry," Prue replied as Phoebe gathered some fire making materials. They heard rustling coming from the bushes and held their breaths as Piper and Paige emerged.

Piper put her hands on her knees to let the cooler air dry her sweat a little as Paige came out from behind her doing the same. "Sorry guys all we found was fruit and its not much," Piper said as Paige took it out of the backpack. It was only two pieces and they could split it four ways but it would have to do for tonight as it was getting dark.

"Its ok, maybe in the morning we could so some fishing," Prue said as the water was a little clearer and not moving as fast as before.

"You ok Paige?" Phoebe asks.

"Its just so dense in there," Paige replied as she got a good look at the shelters," Nice."

"Ok we still need to take turns because we are so close to the river and keep the fire going," Prue said and swatted at her arm to kill one of the hundred mosquitoes that that bit her today," The one thing that sucks about doing the river thing is the dam mosquitoes."

"Hay the Sharman gave me some of this stuff and it is supposed to help keep them off," Paige said and pulled out a large leaf that was tied at the top. She opened it up and there was a red powdery substance. "It comes from the leaf cutter aunts when they leave a nest, its just decompose leafs," she said and rubbed some on her face, neck and hands which made her look red. They all took some and immediately could feel the difference as the mosquitoes could not penetrate the coding or they didn't like it. Piper was sleeveless now as she has used them to help both Phoebe's and Paige's injuries and had a lot of little cuts from the sharp plant life which in the jungle.

"Piper we need to find a way to cover your arms," Prue said as she helped her put on the powder.

"Yeah this place is sharp," she said as Phoebe finally got the fire started that was in the middle of the two shelters. Paige filled up the canteen with river water so they could boil it as Piper gently sat down on the bedding and then remembered she had the skin from the Jaguar in the backpack and pulled it out to use as a pillow.

"I am so jealous," Phoebe said.

"Hay you got to eat a heart," Piper said and gave her a wide smile as Phoebe's face showed how much she liked the taste and wrinkled her nose.

"Ok who has first watch?" Prue asks after getting more wood.

"I'm not that sleepy, so I could," Paige replied because she got a lot of rest at the village why they were there.

"Here guys," Piper said and handed them each a slice of fruit," Don't get to full."

"Its something," Prue said and ate her piece slowly as Paige ate hers quickly. Phoebe slept with Prue and hoped she did not kick in the middle of the night and push her off. Paige would wake Piper up and then she would wake Prue and Phoebe would be last. It has become a ritual they have grown used too in the time they have been there as someone needed to watch the fire and make sure no large animals came out of the forest and grabbed one of them. Paige had major issues ever since the snake tried to suffocate her to death and at night is when the anacondas usually hunted. Everyone else was fast asleep within the first hour of her duty and the red powder was keeping the mosquitoes at bay for now along with the fire. She could hear things moving in the water and kept her vigilance as her sister's life depended on it. Occasionally she could see eyes reflect back from the river caused by the light of the fire and that was the most disturbing thing, not knowing what it was or if it was thinking of attacking. She would add wood to the flame and keep it bright as possible while the night went on. She woke up Piper but sleep would not come easy to her and she stayed awake for a while talking to her, which Piper didn't mind as she liked the company.

"See the beacon?" Piper asks while looking around.

"Yeah its over there," Paige replied while pointing in the distance there was a cross the river and high in the night sky. It was not like a star and had a triangle shape to it so it could be seen and distinguished. "You think we should go for that don't you?"

"I don't know I just don't trust the elders to let us go home even after we find civilization, which technically the tribe should have counted."

"They kind of found us," Paige said while looking at the beacon.

"Details," Piper said out the side of her mouth.

"The shaman said that there is a really bad tribe down river and we should get through it as quickly as possible."

"How far?" Piper asks.

"About 10 hours, so we were on the river for four, which means they are only about six hours away," Paige replied and then yawned.

"We will fall over that waterfall when we get to it, you need to get some sleep," Piper said and padded the soft fur.

"I get a pillow," Paige said happily and laid down. Piper was now concerned about the other tribe and how they were going to get past them considering they stick out like a sore thumb on the river. She would talk to Prue in the morning and would just be occupied staying alive for tonight.

You could always tell it was morning by how the noises changed as the day shift came to life while the night dwellers went into hiding. Phoebe was thankful to greet the morning sun but also dreaded the heat and humidity that came with it. The river offered some relief but she would not go near it until everyone else was awake just in case she came to the same fate as Piper. It was the first night that she actually got some good sleep because the mosquitoes were kept at bay by the red powder and the fire. She stretched her body out as Prue awoke and did the same.

"God I need coffee," Prue said.

"Piper said we might get lucky and find the plant they get it from," Phoebe said and drank some water from the canteen.

"That would be nice, and then we could call this place home," Prue said while Piper got up and yawned.

"The hell we can," Piper said and now Paige was awake because of the movement.

"Can you just put me on the raft and then I can go back to sleep?" Paige asks while turning back over on her side.

Piper took a drink from the canteen after Prue was done and rolled her neck around to get out the kinks." Man I cannot wait to have my bed back," she said as Paige reluctantly got out of the shelter. Prue walked over to the water and tried to see any movement in the way of fish or anything they could eat. She could see one that was by a fallen branch and then quietly went back to the shelter and cut down some bamboo. She then placed her machete on the top part and split it down the center about 6 inches and did it again to create prongs that would give her a better chance at stabbing it. She also used short sticks and shoved them down and in between the prongs to keep them separated and used vine to tie it. She hoped that the fish was still there as she quietly walked back up to it. Her other sisters were too busy trying to wake up and get something to drink to even notice Prue.

"What are you doing?" Phoebe asks as she saw her standing very still with the spear in strike position. Prue lunged it down and then pulled it back out with a wide and fat fish attached, but relatively small.

"We have breakfast," Prue said and brought it over to Piper.

"Oh god is that a Piranha?" Piper asks while looking at its sharp razor teeth and red eyes. Prue stretched out the spear as she had no idea what kind of fish it was.

"Ewe," Prue said and dropped it.

"Its food guys but I am not going swimming," Phoebe said and picked up the spear and tried to hand it to Piper who had her hands tight to her body near her chest.

"Get that thing away from me," Piper said and Phoebe just gave her puppy dog eyes. "Fine." She said and took hold of the spear. She used a leaf to keep it off the ash and let it cook.

"For a little guy he has a lot of meat," Paige said noticing that when Piper cut into it, a lot of white flesh was showing.

"Yeah there is," Piper said while handing everyone an equal share," By the way nice job Prue."

"Phoebe's not the only one with good aim," Prue said and enjoyed the tender meat. "Ok we have a full belly so we should get going."

"Prue wait," Piper said while the others put out the fire and got everything ready for the trip. "Paige said that in about six hours we will run into a very bad tribe." Prue looked away and down the river as she contemplated what to do.

"When we get about two hours away we will need to figure something out," Prue said.

"Maybe we can use branches to camouflage somehow, you know look like a fallen tree limb," Piper suggested.

"That's a good idea," Prue said and then got back to her position in front of the raft while the others climbed on.

Unfortunately this six-hour trip would not be as easy as the first as they came across some rapids. None of them have experience with navigating through these and the water was getting faster.

"Hang on!" Prue yelled while trying to avoid a large rock that would have broken the raft into pieces.

"Shit!" Paige yelled as she almost fell off as Piper grabbed her.

"Prue look out!" Phoebe screamed to avoid an overhanging branch that they needed to duck under in order to keep being knocked off. They went into whitewater and could no longer control where they were going and finally the turbulence turned them over. They were now in the fast moving water as they struggled to hold onto the raft and keep afloat. Paige had the backpack on and was glad she did because she would have lost it and their supplies.

"Hold on to it!" Piper yelled as her legs were hitting rocks underneath and decided to lay flat on her back to avoid breaking a leg. The sound of thunderous water ahead made all of them fear the worst as Prue disappeared from sight and then Paige and Phoebe followed by Piper as they went over a 10 foot waterfall. Paige emerged and was clamoring to get air as the water forced her down the river. Phoebe was next followed by Piper as Prue was stuck in the whirlpool underneath.

"Where is Prue?" Piper yelled while Paige and Phoebe got to shore and Piper was trying to swim back against the current. Prue's lungs were aching and she had no idea which way was up because she was surrounded by whitewater and rocks that she kept getting hit against. Piper could make no headway even though she was swimming is hard as she could. Prue finally emerged but did not gasp for air like they did; instead she was motionless and floated right into Piper.

"No!" Piper screamed and used the remaining strength to drag Prue's body back to the shore where Phoebe and Paige jumped back in to help her.

"Prue," Phoebe's voice cracked as she put Prue on her back and started CPR. "Come on dammit breathe."

"This is insane!" Piper yelled up to the sky once again," You can't do this!"

"Come on honey breathe," Phoebe pleaded while pushing down on her chest until finally Prue spitted out water and started coughing. Paige moved her to her side so the water would leave her filled lungs and she started breathing but was still pretty much out of it. "Keep an eye on her," Phoebe said and made a dash for the raft that was floating away from them.

"Phoebe wait!" Piper yelled but it was too late Phoebe was already halfway to it as Paige kept rubbing Prue's back.

"Help Phoebe I got her," Paige said and Piper reluctantly jumped back into the water and helped Phoebe pull the raft back to shore a few feet down. After securing it they ran back to Prue and Paige.

"Prue can you hear me?" Paige asks nervously.

"That sucked," Prue replied through coughs as she rolled onto her back. She thought that she got read off her fear of water a long time ago but she was still scared of it and found that out when Piper got pulled in. Now she knew how her mom felt when she drowned and it was a horrifying feeling.

"Prue are you ok?" Piper asks and kneeled down to check on her.

"Yeah but we are avoiding the waterfalls from now on," Prue replied and they all sat down getting their composure back. Prue had a lot of bruises but thankfully nothing was broken as she rested while the others put the raft back together the best they could. They were all very hesitant about getting back in the water especially Prue, but they needed to find a better place to camp as this did not have enough space to build shelters. Phoebe would take front to let Prue rest and then went further down the river and kept an eye out for any signs of whitewater. Finally they saw a place they could rest and think about how to avoid the other tribe.

To be continued…


	12. Not So Friendly

A/N:

Thanks for the reviews and I fixed the spelling issues in the last chapter. Soon the sisters will see why the elders sent them there as tempers fly because of the lack of food and water.

Chapter 12

Not So Friendly

They set up camp but the rain made it difficult to start the fire but after two hours of trying, Phoebe managed to get it going successfully by using resin the chief gave her in case of emergency. Food was not going to happen as it was getting too dark to hunt or forage. Paige was trying to stay still as her ribs were hurting because of the excessive use when they went over the waterfall. Piper checked on Phoebe's back to make sure her injury was not made worse and was glad to see it was fine for the most part. Prue came across a large centipede that was over 7 inches long and had big pincers on its head. It even hissed as she was thinking about eating it but knew it was probably poisonous and killed it as it was near their camp.

"That is why people don't live here on purpose," Paige said while shaking her hands and trying to get the image of the centipede out of her head.

"Ok guys we need a plan for tomorrow," Prue said and sat down on her makeshift shelter for tonight, after seeing that centipede she was thankful they would be off the ground.

"I still think we can disguise ourselves," Piper said while using her tongue to rake it across her teeth," God I need a toothbrush."

"Here this will help," Paige said and handed her a small plant out of the backpack," You scrape off the end to get to the underlayer and then use the tip to clean your teeth. It also has a mint flavor to it."

"Thanks," Piper said and took the plant out of Paige's hand as the others did the same.

"Oh thank god," Phoebe said as she already was feeling that her teeth were no longer growing fur.

"How will we paddle if we don't want to be seen?" Phoebe asks.

"That will be a challenge but hopefully the river will move us forward and we will not need too," Prue replied.

"Lets get some sleep, tomorrow's a big day," Piper said but that would not come easy as they were worried about the river rising in the middle of the night. Even though they had a roof over their head the rain still seep through and it was almost impossible to sleep. The morning came after a very long restless night and the river was up slightly and moving a little faster than before, but was manageable from what they could tell. They used the fire to boil water so they had some when they were on the raft that they had to prepare. Prue and Piper gathered branches and started placing them on the outside of the raft, while leaving the leafs intact to hide them. The process took over three hours and the heat was draining them along with the lack of food as their bellies went empty for the first time in a while last night.

"Its weird surrounded by animals we can eat, but they are so elusive," Phoebe said while looking up into the canopy and could see monkeys going from tree to tree, but they were way too high to even try to take a shot.

"At least they're not throwing poo," Prue said and climbed on the raft that now looked like a large tree branch that fell into the water. It was hard to see in front of her and Piper would need to use her paddle that was made out of bamboo like a rudder, as the river would move them forward. She also had to keep an eye out for whitewater or any other things that might get in the way. Luckily it was a wide section of the river and they had some room to spare. They had to sit hunched over slightly to keep from hitting their heads on the branches attached to the raft. Piper pushed them off and they were on their way once again as Prue was trying to keep herself from screaming. She never wanted to be near water again but her sisters needed her to be the leader and she fought back the urge and was glad her back was facing them, as she would periodically close her eyes tight and take in deep breaths.

"Hay Pipe, you never told us about your magic carpet ride," Phoebe said.

"I don't remember much but that stuff would sell for a small fortune," Piper replied while guiding the raft as Prue would put out her hand to which direction to go.

"That's probably why he didn't show me how to make it," Paige said remembering that she was left out of that part of the ritual.

Phoebe looked over to her side and could see a head of a snake coming towards them in it was the size of her hand but slightly larger. "Don't move," she said and everyone sat still as they looked around. "Big snake," she whispered as it went under the water and under the raft, but its body just kept coming as it zigzagged in the water.

"I used to like snakes, now not so much," Paige's voice was choppy as it went under the raft.

"Fuck they have some big anacondas here," Prue said while it went to the other side of the river. They all released the breath they were holding and continued. They were now getting close to the unfriendly tribe and Piper had to pull in the paddle as they all remained still and quiet. Prue was looking for a way to get off the river but the tree line was dense and she could not even see a shoreline. IF they had to get off the raft they were screwed because there was no way to get to land easily. The river began to slow almost to a snail pace as their stomachs growled because they have not had breakfast or lunch and the river was muddy and hard to see through. Periodically they would see things jump into the water on the side or bubbles close to them and they knew it was crocodiles or Caymans. They normally don't stay in fast-moving water so the fact that it was hardly moving at all made them very nervous about being tipped over. Prue kept looking ahead hoping for a way to get off the raft but there were just mangled trees and roots that would make it impossible to get through.

"Its getting dark we need to get off this thing," Piper suggested.

"Piper there is no way we can get to land right now," Prue said while pointing to the tree lines on both sides.

"Wait are you saying we will need to be on the water at night?" Phoebe asks nervously.

"I don't know," Prue replied.

"We will not be able to see anything," Piper said.

"Trust me I don't want to be here either, but I also don't want to try to get to land and get eaten," Prue said as she was getting frustrated. It did not take long for the sun to fade and the night to come. Being in the Jungle of night is one thing but on the river it was far worse. They couldn't see anything in front of them and had no fire to keep the chill off. It wasn't as noisy as the forest, but the noises they did hear were definitely of large predators coming out to play. They were sitting ducks as Prue saw a yellowish light in the distance on land.

"Guys be quiet," Prue said as voices could be heard. It was definitely a different language and they were carrying torches. They were moving so slow and leaned back into each other to lay flat and hoped the raft would not run into anything. It was definitely a tribe and they were hunting as they moved right along with them but didn't seem to notice them. The camouflage is either working or they have not seen them yet. Piper had to cough so she covered her mouth and subdued it as the tribe was getting closer because the raft was drifting towards land on the side. Prue could see an outline of a shoreline that the torches highlighted and was pissed that they could not get off because of the tribe. They passed some men who were gathering some water from the river as they were only about 5 feet away from them. One even looked right at Prue but because of the darkness and the camouflage did not see her and probably blew it off as being a large limb. The raft would hit things on occasion, like other branches that were floating or something else that was not dead and begin to spin around to the point that Piper was in front. All of them were terrified and just wanted to sun to come up as their minds would play images of being captured by the tribe, or tipped over and eaten by whatever lived in the river at night. Paige was really getting claustrophobic now and her breathing was quick as more torches would come in and out of view. Piper tried to comfort Paige by wrapping her arms around her as she laid on top of her while she leaned back, but it just made it worse as Paige pushed her arms off.

"Hang in there sweetie," Piper whispered.

"I'm outside – I'm outside," Paige kept repeating in a soft cracked voice.

"Deep breaths," Piper whispered as they went down the river. None of them got any sleep at all and the water they gathered earlier was gone. They had no idea how much time has passed or how long it would be until morning but eventually the torches did fade along with the voices. The raft needed to be adjusted as it was going sideways and Piper slowly and quietly pushed out the paddle and tried to straighten them, but something grabbed it and ripped it right out of her hands. She let out a small scream and then covered her mouth as all of them closed their eyes hoping that no one heard her. Thankfully they were too far away from the tribe now and it was muffled for the most part. 10 hours would pass trying to avoid the tribe, animals and panic before finally they could see the sky brighten. Normally they cursed the sun because of the heat and humidity and wanted it to go away. But after spending the night on the river in complete darkness they would never curse it again. Prue sat up and could see a place to set up and tether the raft.

"Piper hard right," Prue said.

"Um Prue I don't have my paddle anymore, something took it," Piper said and Prue used hers to guide the raft to the shoreline. Everyone else refused to put their hands in the water especially after what she just said. It took a lot of energy to get it over because the river was moving faster now but she did get it there. Paige was the first to get off and then went to her knees almost kissing the ground, but considering the creepy crawlies she decided not to.

"I never want to do that again," Paige said while the others got off.

"Yeah I agree," Prue chimed in as her and Piper pulled the raft ashore and tied it up.

"We need to rest and get some water, my head is killing me," Piper said while rubbing her temples as a headache was the first signs of dehydration.

"Should I start a fire?" Phoebe asks not sure if they were far enough away from the tribe.

"I don't think we have a choice Phoebe, we need to boil the water but we need to put it out wants that's done," Prue replied. The lack sleep, lack of water and food was making all of them feel weak and finding energy to do anything was like trying to go running with the stomach flu. Phoebe went to gather some material she would need but it was getting harder and harder to find good kindling and she was running out of the resin. She started pulling on some branches that looked a little dry and was not paying attention. The next thing she knew she was being stung in several places on the body mostly on her arms and face. "Ouch dammit," she said and started slapping around on her body to kill what was ever biting her.

"Phoebe!" Prue yelled as fear shot through her voice thinking it was the bullet aunt.

"Little fuckers!" Phoebe screams out as she got a good look at the little red aunts.

"Fire ants, we can't stay here," Prue said while she helped get them off and then looked at the ground where there were hundreds of ants.

"Please I can't go back on the river," Paige pleaded as she stomped the ground with her boot killing them.

"Are you ok?" Piper asks Phoebe as she looked her over. Phoebe had some red spots on her arms and face but they were not poisonous at least not that few.

"Yeah just thirsty and hungry," Phoebe replied

"The fire may make them move off," Prue said and gathered some other material that was away from the aunts.

"I hope so because these things bite," Phoebe said while rolling up her sleeves and her face went pale as a large leech made its home there. "Oh come on," she said and tries to pull it off but it just hurt and would not let go.

"Leeches, oh god," Piper said while taking off her shirt and there were at least three she could see. Two on her stomach and one near her bra. "I can't get the dam things off," she said while everyone else is doing the same.

"I don't want to look down my pants," Paige said while her hands shook as she stretched out the front of her pants.

"We need a fire so we can burn them off," Prue said and started gathering the material and put it on the shoreline as she too had several leeches on her. They all rushed to help in the process because they want the little bloodsuckers off of them. After 45 minutes they finally got flame and used a hot point of a stick to get the leeches to let go. They then tossed them into the fire to kill them. Every part of their body was checked and some were in private places and that was the most disturbing. After it was all said and done they all shook their body feeling heebie-jeebies as the leeches crackled and sizzled in the fire. Piper went to the river but stood there for a moment again looking for any signs of life that might come out and grab her. She gathered some water and hope there were no leeches in it as she took it to the fire to get boiled.

"I just figured out where I will send the next demon we encounter," Paige said while putting her clothes back on making sure to check them thoroughly before doing so.

"I don't know what worse, dealing with demons is or this place is?" Prue asks with a snort.

"Right now this place," Piper replied.

"Once we get rehydrated we look for food, it's pretty early and we have a lot of daylight left. Phoebe can you go with Piper and look for some food while Paige and I make a shelter?" Prue asks.

"Sure come on sis," Phoebe replied and Piper was not ready to take on the forest but they needed food and she reluctantly followed Phoebe in.

Prue looked over at her baby sister and she was just staring at the water," You ok?"

"No, I was almost eaten by a snake, almost drowned and now leeches oh and did I mention claustrophobia, this place is not good for that," Paige replied.

"Just think of the great stories you will have for your kids," Prue said and sat next to her for a moment before starting the shelter.

Piper and Phoebe made their way in, and would mark their path as they did so but got concerned about the tribe noticing their presence. It was easy to get turned around even though the river was not that far from them and Phoebe try to use markers that would not easily noticed by another person. They walked for about an hour with no luck but just a few missed chances as things would be just out of reach, or run off before they could get to it. Phoebe still had her spear from earlier and Piper had her machete out as well. They stopped and decided to take a break as they both felt sick.

"Oh I hope we find something, because we need energy bad," Piper said with her hands on the top of her head so she would not vomit.

"Grasshopper," Phoebe said as she looked on a tree and saw it. Before grabbing, she made sure to look it over first and then with a swift movement she captured it.

"Its good protein," Piper said as Phoebe wrinkled her face and started to put it in her mouth but Piper stopped her.

"Hay wait, you need to take off the head, legs and wings or you can choke as it goes down," Piper said and Phoebe pulled off the head which caused the guts to come with it and she almost emptied her stomach. She then pulled off the wings and legs before holding her nose and eating it.

"It tastes like buggers," Phoebe said as even holding her nose did not subdue the taste.

"Yeah," Piper said as she laughed a little. "You know they're not half bad cooked."

"You could have told me that before I did that," Phoebe said and slapped her on the arm.

"I know, but I just wanted to see if you would do it," Piper said and brought her hands back down.

"Prue would make me eat bugs when I was little," Phoebe said while slapping her lips together trying to get rid of the taste.

"Now you're a grown woman and eat bugs all on your own," Piper said.

"I would not laugh, I used to put them in your sandwich before you headed off to school," Phoebe said and winked at her.

"Phoebe," Piper said as they continued forward.

"Ok we need to split up a little," Phoebe said and before Piper could protest she put her hand up," Not far like you go over there and I go over here," she said and pointed to one side.

"Don't go far," Piper said and went in the direction she pointed too. They could hear each other and make sure to talk often. Piper was looking around but was afraid to stick her hand in anything as so many things could bite back. She saw movement in front of her and got her machete ready as it walked right up to her.

"Hello there," she said as the turtle went into its shell. She smiled but then looked around as it seemed to bring bad things with it. When she felt it was safe she reached down and grabbed it, making sure to keep its head away from her. She was just about to call out for Phoebe and tell her the good news when she stepped forward and felt something go around her ankle. The next thing she knew she was upside down and high in the air as she dropped the turtle which landed on its stomach and then came out. It started to walk away as she screamed. Phoebe was not far and ran to where Piper was. "Piper!"

"Up here," Piper replied while the blood was rushing to her head. Phoebe looked up and covered her mouth with her hand.

"How the hell?" she asks and then her face went pale and she threw up.

"Phoebe not now, get me down from here," Piper said while her body swung back and forth. She was hanging from a rope about 15 feet in the air. "Oh get the turtle," she said as it was getting away. Phoebe finally got her bearings and looked up again.

"Piper I need to get Paige and Prue so don't move," Phoebe said as she looked for a way to get her down but could not see where the rope was attached to the bottom.

"No don't you dear leave me Phoebe," Pier said as she did not want to be stuck up there by herself.

"Honey I can't find the rope it will be ok, I will run so don't worry," Phoebe said and took off.

"Get the dam turtle!" Piper yelled as it was getting out of view. Phoebe was already pretty much gone and now she was alone hanging from a tree. "What if something happens to her and she can't get back to tell them where I am at," she thought as the blood was still rushing. She thought about trying to untie the sneer but because she was so high up, the fall would kill her. "Just calm down, calm down, she will be back," she said and knew it took over an hour to get where they were at, so she would need to wait for at least two. She was already feeling lightheaded and tried to reach for the rope and pull herself to a standing position to alleviate the pressure she was feeling. The circulation was being cut off to her ankle because of the rope and it was starting to tingle," How the hell am I going to stay here for two hours?" she said and pulled herself up with the remaining energy she had. Her arms were burning and she could not get any support from her legs as the sneer was around her ankle tightly. She took a moment to look around as she was now in an upright position and saw what Phoebe emptied her stomach for. There were at least four bodies hanging from the trees and some were already decomposing. They were wearing backpacks and from what she could tell they were the group that was opposed to meet with the tribe that found them. She closed her eyes and tried to keep her stomach from raging against her as saliva built up in her mouth. "Fuck – Fuck," she said and now the urgency of getting down was overwhelming as she reached for her machete and realized she dropped it the minute her feet were taken out from under her. She held on for dear life and had to keep her calm until her sister showed up. She just hoped that the other tribe did not come to retrieve their prices.

To be continued…


	13. Just hanging around

A/N:

Thanks for the reviews.

Chapter 13

Just hanging around

Piper could no longer support her weight as her ankle was now numb and let herself hang upside down once more. She had no idea how much time has passed but every minute was like waiting for a root canal. She tried to keep her attention off other hanging bodies and kept cussing the turtle that seems to have it in for her. She finally heard rustling in the forest beneath her and tried to be very still and quiet as she had no idea if it was her sisters or the tribe.

"Piper oh my god," Prue said as she came into view and saw the other people hanging that were clearly dead and have been for a while.

"Prue thank god," Piper said as she almost cried on the spot.

"Ok just give us a minute to get you down," Prue yelled and started looking for the end of the rope but was having just as much difficulty as Phoebe was earlier.

"How did this happen?" Paige asks trying to keep herself from looking at the other bodies.

"Turtle dam turtle," Piper replied as Prue found the end of the rope. She motioned Phoebe and Paige to hold the end while she cut it to keep Piper from falling down hard.

"Hold on!" Prue yelled and cut it with her machete. Piper could feel herself being lowered while her face was red and her head pounded because of the large migraine. Finally she was down enough that they can get a hold of her. Phoebe and Prue held her upper half up while Paige used her machete to cut the rope away from her ankle. They let Piper try to stand but her foot was numb and she could not feel it at all.

"We need to get out of here," Prue said as she looked up at the bodies and did not want to be around if the tribe showed up. They helped Piper walk until they got back to camp and now just wanted out of there but getting back on the river was not their first choice.

"Which devil do we choose the forest or the river?" Paige asks.

"River it will be faster and if we can get some distance between us and them the better off we will be," Piper replied. They all agreed and got back on the raft with no food and very little water after putting out the fire and tried to hide any remnants of them being there. They went down the river and it was picking up speed and narrowing as a few hours passed since they left the camp. Prue began looking for a place to get off mostly because she could see whitewater ahead. Now they were running on fumes and needed food badly as Prue saw a place they could stay for the night.

"Dammit Piper paddle!" Prue yelled as they almost missed the spot.

"I am Prue!" Piper yelled back and she leaned into the new paddle they made before leaving and was able to get it to turn with all her might. Once they hit land they were beyond exhausted and the thought of starting a shelter was daunting. Phoebe did not have any more resin left and even though she tried without it Paige would jump in and try to help.

"Paige it is to damp," Phoebe said getting frustrated that Paige took her flint from her.

"We can still get it going," Paige snapped back as she aggressively struck the flint with the short knife. Piper just sat there with her had on her arms with her legs pulled into her, as her foot was still trying to recover and she had a rope burn around it. Prue was also physically done and just wanted to collapse on the sand but lying on the ground in the Amazon is a huge risk. Phoebe decided to let Paige attempt to make a fire as she took the canteen to get water and was beyond tempted to just drink it. She looked at it for a moment and put it to her lips when Prue grabbed it out of her hands.

"What the hell is wrong with you, do you have any idea how many pathogens are in this water?" she said and Phoebe just turned away from her and sat down.

"Piper you need to come with me and see if there is a waterfall up ahead," Prue said but when Piper did not move she went over to her. "Piper."

"Prue I need a minute," Piper replied still keeping her head down.

"We don't have a minute, it's getting dark and we do not have a shelter or fire yet," Prue replied and grabbed Piper by the arm.

"Back off Prue we should have never taken the river," Piper said as she stood up and was now face to face with her oldest sister.

"You can't blame this on me," Prue said knowing where she was going with that statement. Piper put her hands on her hips while keeping most of her weight on her good foot.

"No we can't blame anything on you because you know best right?" Piper's voice was hard and horse for the most part.

"Maybe you should not get yourself into serious situations and we would not need to save your ass all the time," Prue replied back just as harshly and Phoebe had to intervene.

"Hay stop it, we are hungry and tired and our tempers are short, so use that anger to check up ahead while Paige and I try to get the fire going," Phoebe said and both Prue and Piper looked away from each other. Prue was first to start up the small incline and Piper reluctantly followed.

"I don't think we have to worry about the tribe killing us," Paige said.

"Yeah we will kill each other or die of starvation or dehydration first," Phoebe said as they attempted once again to get the fire started.

Prue and Piper did not speak to each other as they finally made it to the top off the incline and the waterfall. Prue looked down and it was a 50 foot drop with water coming down in force beside her. There was no way to get down and she put her hands on top of her head. The thought of carrying the raft up the incline and then around the huge gorge was just not feasible.

"Fuck!" she yelled and then took her machete and started hacking away everything in her path. "Fuck!"

"Prue stop it, we have no idea if that tribe is close," Piper said in attempts to get her sister to stop screaming.

"I don't fucking care!" she snapped back and looked right into Piper's eyes.

"Fine," Piper said and headed back to camp but stopped when she saw a termite nest. "Prue."

"What?" Prue asks harshly.

"Food," Piper replied and took her machete and began to pull out the little termites and eat them. It did not taste great but she could feel energy coming back with each mouthful. Prue was hesitant but then finally gave in and did the same.

"We will take some back to Paige and Phoebe," Prue said as Piper just forced herself to chew and swallow. She was still very tired but at least her stomach was not growling any longer and her headache was fading.

"Prue I'm sorry," Piper said knowing that she let her temper get the best of her.

"Its ok me too," Prue said and took a large portion of the nest back with her.

Paige did manage to get the fire going just as darkness was sitting in and Prue and Piper emerged in a much better mood when they left.

"Hay we have fire," Phoebe said and Prue handed her a chunk of the nest.

"Food just eat them quickly and don't think about it," Prue said and Phoebe did what she said and so did Paige.

Once it was dark enough Piper looked up and saw the beacon, "of course it's on the other side," she said and sat down. It was amazing how a simple fire can make someone feel human again even though they were still hungry after eating the termites, but it was something. Tomorrow they would need to forage before heading off for the beacon as they were going to have to trudge through jungle instead of just riding the river. They all slept sitting up and huddled around the fire as vampire bats would occasionally check them out and other insects would crawl on them. It would be 20 minutes here and 10 minutes there kind of sleep all night and no one volunteered to keep watch and hoped that they did not get dragged into the river in the middle of the night. But the forest loves to kick you when you're down and began to rain on them making it much harder to get any sleep. Another day came and they were all getting homesick and quite angry at the whole situation. They were lucky in first part of this trip by finding food quickly and were able to build shelters before it became nightfall. The tribe finding them was a huge help in giving them the rest but now their luck is running out and need a change of it quickly. Paige was the first to stand up as the sun started its assault for the day of over 100° temperatures. The river went down significantly in the night and was much clearer as she splashed some of the cool water on her face, but always keeping a mindful eye on her surroundings. She could see something move on the sandy floor of the river and it was too small to be a crocodile or Cayman. She grabbed Phoebe's spear and went back to it as it dug in a little more but she could still see an outline of something. She raised the spear and accounted for refraction of the water to aim slightly lower at her target and struck hard and fast. She pulled the spear out of the water and above her head to reveal a stingray. She smiled and then almost got hit by its tail which had a very bad sting to it.

"Hay look what I got," Paige said proudly and took it to the fire.

"Nice job Paige," Piper said as she could feel hope coming back and pulled out the small knife to start gutting it while the others awoke. Prue gathered some water while Phoebe put some more wood on the fire. Piper cut off the tail first and tossed it in the flame as she continued preparing their breakfast. They all ate slowly after drinking the boiled water so their stomachs could digest the food. It was the first real food they had in two days and they immediately felt the energy rush through their body, but of course they were still pretty exhausted from lack of good sleep.

"Ok guys we can use the raft to cross the river and start for the beacon," Prue said and looked at her compass while lining it up with the stick she placed last night to mark its position. After giving themselves a slight clean up from the water because they needed it, they all got on the raft for the short crossing. It was time to walk to jungle once more and hoped they were closer to home than before as they took their first steps. Prue was still worried about the tribe but would give them a hell of a fight if need be. With a full belly and a canteen full of clean drinking water they made quick work going through the many obstacles that came across them. They were always on the lookout for food in any form and would periodically stop to eat insects that they could get down or were not poisonous. Water vines would also help replenish their water supply on occasion. Brakes were a must about every hour as her feet started hurting again and knew it was the trench foot coming back. On occasion the sky would open up and soak them to the bone and then the sun would evaporate all the moisture in their system. It was a cruel game of relief and then stifling heat and humidity. Prue could see a clearing just ahead of them and was not sure if it was another river or something else as she stepped out of the dense foliage and onto wide open area of high grass with trees in the far distance. Paige was immediately relieved as her claustrophobia was really getting to her and almost did a little dance.

"We only have about three hours left before it gets dark," Piper said as they have been walking for over 10 hours and her lungs hated her for it along with the rest of her body.

"Ok we should camp here tonight before we cross this, it looks pretty barren and I have no idea how long it will take to get over to the other side," Prue said and sat down on a log while taking a drink of water. They all took a moment to relax and began their duties as Prue and Phoebe did the shelter and Paige with Piper went to forage for food. They found some fruit and some plants they could eat but no meat. Prue and Phoebe created a simple shelter that kept them off the ground and put a roof over their head for the night. Phoebe then started a fire with the help of Paige while Piper prepared dinner. She found some roots that would give them vitamins that they need desperately and made a soup with it. They had no idea they could even eat that and if Piper wasn't a cook and a good one, they probably would have never known. Paige pulled out the last of the mosquito repellent in form of the red powder so they could get a good night sleep. It was nice to be off the ground but things could still land on them periodically and just the natural fear of the place would keep anyone from sleeping deeply. Piper was sleeping behind Paige and unfortunately was having a good dream involving Leo. She moaned a little and pulled Paige into her and then Paige slapped her on the arm.

"We are not that close," she giggled and Piper only woke for a few seconds and then went back to sleep. Paige was glad the dream was over as Piper was no longer groping or moaning.

It was morning once more and getting harder and harder with each day that past and now it was time to cross the barren landscape in front of them. The jungle offered material to make shelters, fire and would give them water and food of course with the occasional scorpion, and snake they had to avoid. The temperature was actually much cooler as it was not being held captive by the numerous trees that allow very little to escape. They ate what was left of the fruit and drink very little water as they had no idea when they would come into it again, unless it rained. Prue checked Phoebe's back and the area that needed stitches was almost completely healed except for a scar. She took out the stitches a few days ago and the glue like substance kept it sealed from the possible infection that could occur with any scratch. Paige was still sore and would occasionally have issues with climbing over things as it hurt her rib badly. Piper was continuously getting scratched on her arms because she was sleeveless, and it was a constant battle to keep them from getting infected. Prue's feet were showing the signs of trench foot and she had to keep them drying them near the fire every night to keep it from getting worse. Her leg was still stiff but it did not hurt once she started moving.

"On the bright side it should be an easy walk," Phoebe said and after getting all their things together, they headed off and it was Piper's turn to carry the backpack.

"Look out for snakes," Prue said as the tall grass was a great hiding spot for them but she would soon find out that her walk was about to turn into a nightmare. They were only about 20 feet away from their camp when she felt the ground sink beneath her and she was now waist deep in thick mud. She rolled her eyes why the others giggled a little. "Great just great," she said but the moment she tried to move she realized she could not. There was a tremendous amount of suction and it was like trying to wade through concrete. Every time she tried to lift her leg it just didn't go anywhere and she could feel herself sink further down. "Ok guys I'm starting to freak out, I can't get out," she said while panic was kicking in.

"What?" Piper said and started to walk towards her but Phoebe stopped her.

"Piper you will just get stuck too," Phoebe said and started looking for some kind of vine to use to pull Prue out. Paige was using her walking stick to poke at the mud and get closer to Prue.

"Here Prue grab this," Paige said and stretched out as far as she could without getting stuck herself. Prue took hold but she was facing the other direction and away from Paige. She couldn't turn around at all and was afraid to move.

"Guys this is not good," Prue said and for the first time they can actually since panic in her voice. There was a thin layer of water right above the mud and if it rained it could get higher.

"Its ok sweetie we will get you out," Piper said and started looking for anything that would help. She ran down the sides in hopes to find a way across without stepping into the thick mud, but unfortunately there was no way to do that.

"Prue can you lean forward and use your upper body to get some balance and may be released suction?" Phoebe asks as she gave her a long stick to put in front of her.

"I don't know Phoebe what if I sink further," Prue replied as her breathing quickened.

"Just try," Phoebe said as all the attempts of pulling her out did not work. Prue put the long branch in front of her and then leaned forward but was terrified that her arms would end up stuck as well. She was able to get leverage and after struggling for over 10 minutes she managed to get her feet free. She was still in the mud and could not stand as she would just sink back in.

"Ok guys we need to crawl on this stuff or we will get stuck," Phoebe said and got on all fours and used a large branch in front of her and began to crawl. It did not take long for them to get exhausted and had to stop quite often to get their breaths back as they were coated with mud.

"What the fuck is this?" Paige asks as her rib screamed at her with pain and all she wanted to do was sleep.

"I think it's called the bog," Phoebe replied.

"No its called hell," Piper said while struggling to move forward. Her cuts were starting to burn as the mud now covered her entire body as the stench of the decay of plant life was like sulfur going right up their nostrils and would gag on occasion. It took two hours crawling on all fours until finally they hit solid land. They rolled on their backs and kept their knees up so they would not throw up as their hearts raced. No one spoke because all of them are too busy trying not to pass out from exhaustion and the smell. Now they were extremely dehydrated as the sun was hitting them straight on relentlessly. To Prue it was more terrifying then the waterfall as thoughts of being stuck in the mud was worse than just dying by drowning. Piper sat up after finally getting control of her body and looked around and she tried to rub off the mud that was on her arms because of the stinging.

"Ouch," she whispered and then just gave up the attempt.

Phoebe got to her feet first and then almost collapsed as she started seeing black spots. "Whoa there Phoebe," Piper said and grabbed her arm and made her sit back down. Phoebe was very dazed and had no idea she almost went out. "You ok?"

"Yeah thanks," she replied weakly. After about an hour they all have the energy to stand and then realized they were just on a small patch as more of the bog awaited them.

"You have to be kidding me," Piper said and threw the backpack to the ground.

To be continued…


	14. Welcome to the suck called the bog

A/N:

Thanks for the reviews.

Chapter 14

Welcome to the suck called the bog

All of them stared blankly ahead at more thick stinky mud. It took every bit of energy they had to get to the little island that was just big enough to support all four of them. Night was coming and with no wood to make a fire or shelter, it was going to be a long one. Prue knew she had to get her boots off and let her feet breathe as sharp pain was coming and going. Paige has already empty her stomach twice because of the rib while Phoebe was still dazed. Piper grabbed the canteen out of the backpack she tossed on the ground and went to Prue. She got a good look at her sisters feet while Prue looked pale as bits of skin were hanging off with spots of blood.

"Oh god Prue," Piper said and sat down next to her.

"Piper I don't know how to make this any better," Prue said and tried not to look at them.

"You rest and stay off of them," Piper said and gave her the canteen so she could get some water in her.

"Thanks but Paige needs this more than me," Prue said and tried to push it away but Piper just pushed it back.

"We all do right now."

Paige wiped her mouth and slowly got up from her hunched over position and sat down next to Piper. "Now I'm hungry again," she said as she took a drink of water.

"You ok?" Piper asks while Paige got a look at Prue's feet.

"Oh honey your feet," Paige replied and started looking through the backpack for anything that would help.

"Paige its ok I just need to rest," Prue said and put her hand on Paige's arm to get her to stop looking. Paige slumped her body as the energy to even look was too much. "How is Phoebe?"

"I think she is trying to find a happy spot," Piper replied as her younger sister was still just staring out into space. "I will give her some water," she said and grunted when she got up as a dizzy spell come over her. She stood for a few seconds to let it pass while she had her eyes closed and then continued to Phoebe. "Hay you need this," she said and took hold of her arm to snap her out of it. Phoebe moved her gaze from the abyss and looked at her.

"Piper hi," she said slowly coming back to reality.

"Here," Piper said and helped her drink from the canteen because Phoebe's hands were shaking badly.

"Thanks."

Piper pulled out the parachute from the backpack and laid on half down on the wet and cold ground and would use the other half as a covering for the night. Prue knew that Piper was exhausted and she kept coughing for some reason and she thought she got some of the disgusting mud in her mouth. She wanted to help but her feet just would not cooperate and lay on her back to keep from getting sick. Paige could barely move as any movement just wanted to make her scream and Phoebe was still going in and out of reality. This bog was the worst they have experienced so far and it was not done as they had to do it again the next day. She hoped that after a good night's rest it would be ok, but Prue's feet were bad and infection was starting. She watched as Piper guided Phoebe to the makeshift bed and made her lay down and then she came for her. Paige felt Piper's hand take hers and tried to keep her movement to a minimal as she laid her next to Phoebe.

"Prue I need to get you on the parachute," Piper said and helped her scoot on it and next to Paige. Piper looked at the remaining water and contemplated on using it to clean Prue's feet off. She bit her lower lip and looked out over the bog as the sun was getting even with the horizon. She used a portion of the Jaguar fur because it was dry from being in the backpack to dry Prue's feet after words. She sparingly used the water on one foot as Prue sat up.

"Piper we need that," she said.

"Prue we will find some in the morning, right now you need this," Piper said and continued. Prue felt the clean water hit her feet and it stopped the pain for a moment until Piper started to clean and dry them off. She then wrapped her feet in the warm fur and it felt so much better. She then pulled the other half of the parachute over her family as she would get in last. Piper tried to make sure almost every part of them was covered to keep the biting insects out and keep them warm. It was still light out but it was fading fast as all of them fell asleep dreading the next day and the bog to come. The night was a mixture of coughing, tossing and turning for the most part but the bugs could not get in and that help greatly. Paige was the first to wake and it was still somewhat dark as she crawled out of the parachute and went over to the edge of the little island they make their home for tonight. Her body was reeling against her as she continued her vomiting from earlier and she had a little diarrhea to add to her misery. She has never felt so weak in her life and all of them were fairly healthy people as they worked out together to lose the baby fat and keep their self's up for demon attacks. Phoebe was the next to wake and did the same thing as Prue dragged herself out from under the cover to also get rid of the nausea.

"I think we are sick," Paige said while rocking slightly.

"How?" Prue asks.

"Those bugs we ate, I have not felt well since then," Phoebe replied while covering her mouth. Prue looked up at the fading night sky and could see the beacon taunting them. It was far in the distance and way passed the bog in front of them and the tree line past that. She had no idea how long it would take to get there but her feet were unusable at the moment and the thought of dragging her self-crossed the other part was something she believed she might not be up to. Piper woke up and could tell that she was alone under the cover and climbed out to check on them.

"Oh god you guys scared me, I thought you left without me," Piper said as relief came over her but when the sun began to rise, she could tell something was wrong. "Are you guys ok?"

"No I think we have food poisoning, or bug," Paige replied.

"What?"

"How do you feel?" Prue asks as Piper did not eat any of the so-called bug dinner last night because she was too exhausted and just wanted to lay down.

"Ok I mean not great but not sick," Piper replied as Paige emptied her stomach again but nothing was really coming out as it was more dry heaving than anything else. Piper grabbed the canteen and realizes she used the remaining water to clean off Prue's feet. She looked around at the relatively barren landscape that was just mostly mud and grass that was soaked. Without being able to boil the water it would be a disastrous thing to drink it as they were already ill. She stood up and looked at where they came from and where they needed to go while Prue unraveled the fur to check her feet. They were dry but now the true damage could be seen. Her skin was peeling off and the purplish color on her toes and heals was the first sign of infection. Piper almost joined Phoebe in throwing up as she looked away.

"We can't stay here," Prue said knowing they needed water badly. "So listen, you guys go on without me once you hit the beacon I should be returned home," she finished.

"We are not leaving anyone alone Prue, I will drag you a crossed this thing if I need too," Piper said as she gathered the canteen and cut some of the parachute to make a small bag.

"Piper what are you doing?" Phoebe asks while trying to stand but just fell back down and lost consciousness for a moment.

"Phoebe stay still you're completely dehydrated," Piper said as Paige helped her sit up." I will go back and find water, wood and food so you guys can get your strength back, and Prue we will use a sled of some kind to pull you a crossed."

"The hell you are, Piper you're not 100% either and going across alone is too dangerous," Prue said and she tried to put weight on her feet but then screamed in pain and fell back down on her backside.

"It will only take two hours and then maybe a few more hours to forage and I will be back in no time," Piper said but she knew she was downplaying it. "Prue we have no choice, I am the only one who could do this right now," she continued as her sister was about to protest.

"For god's sake be careful," Prue said as there was no way of changing her mind.

"I will," Piper said and grabbed her machete and put it in the holster. She rapped the small bag she made around her waist and took Phoebe's spear to give her leverage on the mud. Her other sisters tried not to show their panic as they were on the verge of passing out from dehydration. Piper looked across the bog they struggled with yesterday as the sun was lighting it up and on the surface it looked so innocent but once she got on all fours and started the journey, the innocence was replaced with thick mud that threaten to swallow anyone who dared to stay too long in one place on it. The sulfur smell was already filling her nostrils as she moved like an inch worm on it. It was only about a mile long but because of having to move so slowly and every muscle was in full punishment it would take at least two hours or more. Prue moved herself to the edge so she could keep an eye on her the whole time as Phoebe could no longer sit straight up and had to lie down while her eyes forced themselves closed. The last time she remembered feeling this way was right after she gave birth and he gave her a sedative to help her sleep. Her entire body was beyond week it was shutting down and so was Paige's.

"Keep her safe mom," Prue whispered while looking up.

Piper was only in it for about 15 minutes and already was feeling the burn on her arms and legs and her thirst became more demanding. It was tempting to drink the water that flowed on the top of the mud but it would just make her sick and right now they needed her to get back with clean water and food. She would occasionally stop to get a breather but the moment she felt herself begin to sink, she panicked and moved forward again. The sun was not helping as it heated up the temperature making the stink more permeated. She would grunt with every lift of her legs as the mud wanted to keep her in its grasp for eternity. She was now covered head to toe in the stuff but it did help keep the mosquitoes at bay for once. She wanted to stand as her back was becoming quite sore but that would make it impossible to move and she could even get completely stuck where one of her sisters would need to help her. She knew that in their condition that they would die on the way and would not let that happen. She decided to distract her mind by picturing her kids and husband on the other side and that gave her purpose. She stopped as a snake slithered right in front of her but did not seem to notice her presence as the mud was hiking her body heat. She had no idea what kind it was but was not about to find out if it was poisonous or not and kept perfectly still while holding her breath. Other insects including centipedes and large cockroaches would scurry past her and even crawl on her back as she was focused on the other end. Prue lost sight of her because she blended into the mud and was out of view. She also could no longer fight the process of needed to lie down and sleep. Now it was a battle against time as her body was shutting down as well. An hour has past and Piper was almost in tears as every creepy Crawley and exhaustion along with the stench was becoming too much. She kept her eyes focused on the images but even they would fade on occasion as she came dangerously close to passing out. If the happened she would just sink into the mud and they would never find her.

"God help me," she said through cries as she pushed forward. Another hour to go if she keeps this pace but she had to stop and rest her head on the spear that was just above the mud to keep her neck from cramping to the point of not working. Every time she did the threat of going to sleep creeped on her like the insects that took advantage of her non-movement by crawling over her. She wished her sisters were yelling at her in the distance giving her strength but she knew they did not have it in them and were close to dying. She opened her eyes and lifted her head and continued while spitting out any of the mud out of her mouth to avoid getting sick. Finally she could see the tree line within reach and she used all her might to pick up the pace and felt solid land under her arms for the first time in two hours. She smiled weakly and then pulled her upper body onto it and just laid her head down on the ground. She needed to rest and did not care what crawl on or over her as she pulled up her shirt to put over her mouth to keep anything from entering. She was breathing hard and tries not to suck in any of the mud as her lower half was still encased. "Just a few minutes, I just need a few minutes," she thought and let her eyes close. She had no idea how long she was asleep, but the sound of something really close woke her up. It was still daylight and because of the heat was probably mid-day from what she could tell. Only the whites of her eyes could be seen as she stayed perfectly still while trying to figure out what was breathing just a few inches from her face. She needed to blink a few times to clear out the mud and then it came into focus. It was skin of a crocodile from what she could tell and its side was moving in and out. It was probably reducing its body temperature in the mud and now she was trapped. She believed that because she was so encased in mud it did not see her or get her sent. It did not look big but about the size that attacked her before. She remembered eating the tail and how much energy it gave them. It would be beyond risky as she could not see its head and any movement could make it strike. Its breaths were slow and maybe it was even sleeping as it rested. They become lethargic when cooling down and that could give her a chance. She slowly moves her left hand to her machete and looked for any movement from it as she controlled her breathing. It would either need to be quick or silent as she pulled it out but it did not move as she got the machete out in front of her. She moved the spear to her side making sure not to touch it in any way and it would give her a second line of defense if it decided to snap its head sideways which was there more powerful attack. She moved the pointed in close to its side and hoped it would be enough if it felt the sharp stab to make it stop. She tried to get a look at its head and finally after what seemed like forever she could tell its eyes were closed. She rose up slowly using the solid ground to give her leverage and rose up the machete over her head with both hands as its eyes opened and it was now or never. She brought the machete down right behind its head severing its spinal as it opened its mouth wide to reveal its sharp and hungry teeth but the minute it started to snap its head to the side the spear did its work and made it stop as Piper with a battle cry brought down the machete and killed it instantly. It still moved as part of the normal body's reaction and she gave her machete a twist to make it final. It was only about 3 1/2 feet long but if it would have got hold of her, it could have ripped off her arm or drowned her in the mud. Piper's heart was pounding but she has never felt more alive than now as she pulled out the machete and climbed out of the mud and onto solid land. Her lower part was quite wet as her upper part was dry mud that covered everything but her eyes that were burning with new purpose. She knew that she only had a short time before the meat would go bad, so she needed to work fast. She gathered the material needed to make the fire and pulled out the flint she brought with her. Once the fire was started she used leafs to clean herself off as best she could before preparing the meat. It needed to be gutted and she would mostly use the tail as it contained all the protein and vitamins they needed. Next was water and she found some water vines and one was thick and filled the canteen quickly. She also made sure to rehydrate herself before eating anything. After another two hours of forging a preparing the food she needed a way to bring it across. They also needed firewood as she knew they were going to be on that little island until they got enough energy to cross the other side. She gathered some wood and made a small sled and uses vines so she could wrap it around her as she pulled it behind her. She did not only find water but some fruit and even a termite nest that would help Prue's feet. There was a plant that would help with nausea and food poisoning as well. It was the mother load for her and she had a new found energy as she got everything she needed. She wrapped up the cooked meat and some that was ok not to cook for at least 5 to 6 hours mostly because it was the fat and wrapped it in the small amount of bag she brought. Next she made the sled to carry everything on and hoped it would slide easily on the mud. A pile of wood that might get them through the night along with some starter to help get it going in case it went out. She used leafs to cover it all up and keep it as dry as possible as she wrapped the vine under her arm and the other part over her shoulder. She took a deep breath and grabbed the spear to help her get a crossed once more. "Just two hours and then you can rest," she said and went on all fours to cross the hell again.

To be continued…


	15. Hand in time

A/N:

Thanks for the reviews.

Chapter 15

Hand in time

Prue opened her eyes and squinted at the bright sun overhead and the pain that was subsided while she was unconscious was coming back as her feet hurt. She was still dazed with she heard rustling in the tall grass in front of her and she sat up to see what was making the noise.

"Prue," Piper gasp out as she was now chin deep in the mud in front of her with her shaking hand stretched out and her eyes filled with terror.

Prue crawled to the edge of the little island they were on and grabbed Piper's hand that was slipping because of the mud," Piper fight!" she yelled as she could see that her sister was struggling to stay above the mud line. She pulled with both hands while leaning back but the suction was keeping Piper from being pulled out. "Help!" she yelled to get her sisters to come out of their semi-conscious states as she continued to pull. The spear that Piper was using to get across broke a few feet away as she dragged the sled behind her which was still above the mud line. She tried to crawl but without the leverage the spear gave her she just sank in. At first she was only about waist deep but every time she moved, she sank deeper and deeper.

"Prue get the sled," Piper said and used her other hand to move the sled in front of her.

"No Piper you first," Prue's voice was breaking as she knew what Piper was doing. "Dammit help me!" she yelled again and then saw two hands grab Piper's wrist. Phoebe was now pulling as well but it was like trying to pull someone out of a vacuum seal and every time they would relax the grip for a moment, she would sink a little more.

"Wait I have an idea," Phoebe said as Prue dug her heels into the solid ground and kept her grip on Piper. Phoebe grabbed the parachute and rolled it up so it made a rope. She ran back over as Paige was waking as well but was oblivious for a moment as her mind try to catch up to the events.

"Piper put this around you and under your arms," Phoebe said as Piper was struggling to keep her head above the mud. She tossed it to her but Piper was too weak to do much of anything else and Prue could feel her grasp loosen.

"Don't you dare give up on me!" Prue said through her teeth and then saw Paige go into the mud. "Paige!" she yelled as now two sisters would be stuck, but Paige was only about waist high and could get the parachute under Piper.

"I got her," she said and put it under her arms and then held her head up to alleviate some of the stress on her neck. "Come on honey you can do this," she whimpered as Piper's eyes closed. "Pull!" she yelled and Prue with Phoebe used all the strength they had which was not much, and started pulling while screaming as their bodies raged against them. Paige was not that far from solid land and used the sled to help her get out as they pulled Piper onto dry ground but clearly unconscious. They were all breathing heavily as Paige finally got back on the little island and pulled the sled to safety as well.

"Piper wake up," Prue said as she got to her knees and held Piper's head. She was completely covered in mud and she started clearing it away from her mouth so she could breathe better. Paige looked over the sled and found the canteen that was filled with water. She was tempted to drink it herself but knew Piper needed it more and she took it over to her.

"Come on drink this," she said and put the lid to Piper's dry and parched lips. She let a little in and Piper swallowed out of reaction but was still not waking up. "She's just exhausted right?" Paige asks while her hand that held the canteen was shaking.

"Yeah she's just exhausted," Prue replied and hoped that was the only reason as many things could have happened while she was alone. Phoebe took the wood off the sled and begins the process of starting a fire while Paige and Prue took care of Piper. They were not about to use the precious water to clean her off but made sure her air way was clear. Prue could see blood around her shoulder and realized it was the vine that dug in as she dragged the sled.

"I need to clean this," Prue said but was hesitant to use any water for that.

"Where did she get these?" Phoebe asks as she pulled out two water bottles that were filled with clear water.

"I have no idea, maybe it came from the people we found hanging in the forest earlier," Paige replied and hoped it was clean enough to drink as she could no longer keep her thirst at bay and took a drink. She let the life-saving liquid swirl around in her mouth before swallowing. It helped greatly but she was still feeling nauseous and weak as were the rest of them. Phoebe continues to unpack the sled after getting the fire started with the flint she pulled out of Piper's pocket. She could not believe how much she was able to collect and had to weigh at least 65 pounds that she dragged behind her. She found the cooked meat and recognized it from before.

"This is a Cayman meat," she said and put it on the fire to warm it up.

"Oh god was she attacked?" Prue asks and started frantically looking over Piper's body.

"I don't know but she needs to eat and so do we," Phoebe replied as Paige found the plants.

"Phoebe we need to boil these together. I will prepare them and it should get rid of nausea and food poisoning," Paige said and after breaking the plants down, she put them in the bamboo shoot with some water and put it on the hot ashes to get it to boil. Prue used some of the water from the bottle to clean the wound caused by the vine around Piper's shoulder. She then used the fur to put under Piper's head to make her more comfortable as she was either asleep or unconscious. She watched her chest move up and down at a normal rate as hers was normalizing as well. She sat down while holding Piper's hand and just wanted to break down but her sisters needed her and she fought back the urge. She was fairly confident when they first arrived in the Amazon that she could get them home safe and sound, but now she was losing that confidence with every day that past. She used her thumb to wipe some mud off of Piper's face and away from her eyes," I'm sorry," she whispered as it should have been her getting the supplies they needed and not Piper who was only a few minutes away from drowning in mud.

"Prue drink this," Paige said and handed her the bamboo that had the mixture in it. Prue drank the bitter medicine and nodded as she handed it back to Paige.

"She got a termite nest," Phoebe said as she continued to empty the sled.

"We owe her big time," Paige said while drinking the concoction.

"Yes we do," Prue chimed in.

Phoebe took the meat off the fire and made sure to drink water before eating as it would not digest correctly and would just make them sick. Paige put the termite nest on the fire so Prue could start the process of healing her feet but they knew it was not going to completely take care of it. They left a lot for Piper as they had no idea if she has ate at all before making her journey back. Night was coming and there was enough firewood on the sled to keep it going through the night. Slowly but surely they could feel the energy coming back and the natural medicine do its job of curing their nausea as Piper finally awoke from her slumber.

"Piper," Prue said and helped her get to a sitting position. Piper was looking around like she had no idea where she was until she felt the warmth of the fire and saw her sisters looking at her worriedly. She hugged Prue and broke down as she remembered almost drowning in mud. "Its ok honey, you're ok," Prue said while trying to stroke the back of her head, but her hair was covered in dry mud and was like a can of hairspray was used on it.

"Are you guys ok?" Piper asks through tears.

"Thanks to you," Phoebe replied and went over to hug her along with Paige. They said nothing to each other as they held her. "Here sweetie you need to eat," she said and took some meat with fruit and put it on a leaf for her to eat. Piper relinquished her grasp and drank the water that Paige gave her while slowly eating her dinner. Prue put her feet so the smoke of the fire would hit them and the termite nest would do its job or the best it could considering the status of her feet.

"Did you find these water bottles?" Paige asks.

"Yeah they were empty so I filled them with water from some vines," Piper replied.

"Where did you get this meat?" Phoebe asks nervously and Piper told them what happened.

"Thank god it was a baby and you were covered with mud or it would have killed you while you slept," Paige said and then closed her eyes at the thought.

"I hate mud," Piper said as she looked from where she came.

"After you eat you need to get some sleep, we will take care of everything else," Prue said while rubbing her back and Piper nodded as she was almost too tired to chew. "I need to check you for leeches before you go to bed ok," she continued and again Piper just nodded as her eyes were blinking slowly. After Piper was done Prue did her check and found at least 10 that were completely engorged on her blood and she used a hot tip of a stick from the fire to remove them. Paige got the parachute ready for them to sleep under and they helped Piper get on it. She kissed her on the cheek before Piper rolled to her side and fell asleep.

"How are your feet?" Phoebe asks as Prue was looking them over.

"I don't know yet but they don't hurt as much," Prue replied while still holding them over the smoke," we need to get off this dam island tomorrow," she said.

"Prue I don't know if Piper is ready for that considering what happened," Paige said.

"I know Paige but we need to get off here and she will not be alone this time," Prue said and crawled under the parachute as Phoebe was taking first watch and then Paige. Both of them were feeling much better than before and hope to good night's sleep would help Piper and Prue out. Prue was fist to wake as the morning came as Paige was tending the fire with the little wood they had left.

"Hello and welcome to another day," she said as Prue stretched her body while in a seated position and then smacked her lips together. "Here," Paige said and handed her some water.

"Thanks and how you doing?" Prue asks as she gingerly scooted out of the parachute trying not to wake Phoebe and Piper.

"Good actually, that plant concoction worked," Paige replied.

"Yeah it did, you know I think we would not have survived the night without that and of course the food and water was a huge help," Prue said and gave Piper a gentle pat before getting clear.

"It looks like rain," Paige said while looking up at the darkening sky.

"This place is mean," Prue said and looked at her feet. There were still some black and blue and the skin peeled off was not infected from what she could tell, but the moment she tried to put her boots on she had to take them off. 'Fuck."

"I was thinking that once we got across, we could make something to pull you along with us, so you would not need to walk," Paige suggested.

"No Paige, no one is pulling me along, if Piper can do what she did then I can walk," Prue said and clearly her stubbornness was coming through.

"Prue."

"No Paige and that is final," Prue said giving her a stern look as Piper woke up.

"I need a bath," Piper said and started peeling off the dry mud on her arms.

"Hay how are you?" Prue asks.

"Ok but if I ever decide to do something like that again, tie me down or something," Piper replied with a half-smile.

"You bet," Prue said and smiled back at her.

"There's some leftover fruit for breakfast if you want it?" Paige asks and handed some to her.

"Thanks," Piper said and took her portion.

"We need to get going before starts raining," Prue said and Piper looked up at the sky.

"Prue I don't know if I can," Piper said as she was already feeling dread and a lot of fear rush through her body.

"We will be with you honey so it will be ok," Prue said noticing how she was feeling and Piper knew she was right about getting a crossed but every moment was not going to be pleasant.

Phoebe was the last to wake up and they all had breakfast and water to get their energy levels as high as they could. Paige put what she could in the backpack and Phoebe took it from her.

"Paige your rib is still healing, I will carry this ok," Phoebe said and Paige did not argue.

"Ok guys its now or never," Prue said as the clouds were getting darker and thunder could be heard in the background. "I don't want to be in this stuff when it rains."

"You know for the first time I'm actually looking forward to the forest," Piper said as they all got on all fours and began the process of getting a crossed the mud. Phoebe made a staff for Piper to use out of the sled she made as the rest had one as well to give them leverage. Prue had no choice but to put her boots on and this time with socks to help soften the blow, but took a risk with moisture from sweat that would build in. An hour has passed and the rain was coming down as they were at least a half an hour away from the other side from what they could tell. There was a slight slope going up and Paige realized this was not a good predicament.

"Guys I think we're in a somewhat dried-up riverbed," she said.

"So," Phoebe said while continuing to move forward.

"If there is flood down river, we are screwed," Paige said and they all began to realize what she was saying and picked up their pace. Normally they would be thankful for the rain especially with the lack of water they had earlier, but now they were crawling for their lives as it kept coming. There was another problem the mud was keeping the rain water from dissipating into the ground and was creating a 6 inch layer of water above the mud. A difficult task now became a struggle to keep from sinking deeper in and drowning.

"We are close just keep moving," Prue said as panic started to set in as she was moving faster and faster as the water was now up to her chin. She would look around her and make sure her sisters were ok as Piper was close to her side the whole time. It was hard to fight the natural want to stand and run but that would be a death sentence as they inched their way along. Paige could hear something rumbling in the distance and knew it was not thunder.

"Go!" she yelled as she could see white water heading their way. Prue reached the shore line first but her feet would not like standing and she cringed in pain as she reached for Piper who took her hand. She pulled her to shore as Phoebe and Paige were next, but they were still in the danger zone and needed to get off the incline as quickly as possible as the water was rushing in.

"Climb dammit climb!" Prue yelled as every step was excruciating while using her staff to dig in and get up the incline with her sisters in tow. They just got to the top as the 10 foot waves of water went roaring past them and took out some trees along the way. Deadly debris was coming way to close to them and they had to keep going up. Piper took Prue's hand as she was having difficulty moving her feet up the hill.

"Come on Prue I got you," she said and seen the water rising with her other sisters dangerously close to getting wiped out. "Come on!" she frantically yelled and after a few agonizing moments they were all clear of the flash flood. They all collapsed to the ground and took a moment to get their composure back as Prue took off her boots and socks while trying to fight back tears of pain.

"Well we are a crossed and just in time," Paige said as they would have been wiped away by the water if they did not leave the island when they did. Piper stood up and used the falling rain to clean her off and put out the canteen to get filled with fresh water. Phoebe went over to Prue and checked on her.

"You ok?" she asks.

"I will be just give me a minute," Prue replied but it was garbled as she was trying to keep from screaming. She had her arms covering her face as she was on her back.

"Once we get rested we should move away from here just in case the water rises," Piper said as she did not like being that close to raging water.

"Ok," Paige said while holding her side as her rib was hurting. After a few moments they went further into the forest but they needed to drag Prue by her underarms as her feet were just too bad off to walk. Once they found a clearing they decided to make a much larger sled to put her on. She continuously protested but they ignored her and kept working. Paige sat on a log and was rocking back and forth and getting angry.

"Paige what's wrong?" Piper asks as she kneeled down in front of her.

"My rib," Paige raspy voice replied.

"Ok just rest, Phoebe and I can do this sweetie," Piper said and patted her on the shoulder before going to help Phoebe.

"She ok?" Phoebe whispered.

"Her rib is really hurting," Piper whispered back as they cut the branches to length.

"Maybe we should make two?" Phoebe asks.

"No but you and I will pull Prue she can't put any more stress on it right now," Piper replied as Phoebe looked over at her baby sister who was clearly in pain.

"Listen if we find a good place to camp we will stay there until they are both ready to move on," Piper said but Phoebe desire to get home was making her inpatient.

"Piper we have to be close to the beacon," Phoebe said.

"We don't know that."

"I just think we should."

"No they need to heal," Piper cut her off and continued to tie the branches together with vine she found. Phoebe did not argue even though inside she wanted to, but they needed to get moving.

After the sled was done Piper and Phoebe pulled a very irate Prue on it as Paige tried to help.

"Paige no we got this," Piper said and Paige reluctantly backed away.

"Dammit you guys I can walk," Prue said but Piper just shoved her back down.

"No you can't Prue now just let us help you," she said and her eyes made that clear. Prue's jaw tightened as she wanted to say something but just let them do it. They used vine on one end and pulled her along behind them as Paige would stay in the back to keep an eye on Prue. She could tell that her older sister was beyond frustrated and she would never make eye contact with her. Paige was struggling with each step as her rib felt like it was going to puncture something and sharp pains would come and go. After about an hour of walking they found a small clearing that would be a good place to stop and make camp. The rain was still coming down in buckets and they were all soaked to the bone but at least clean from the mud. Piper knew that Prue was not mad at them but herself and gave her something to do that would require sitting.

"Here you can get these vines ready and I will probably need guidance in making the shelter," Piper said as she handed her some vines to strip and make them more pliable for using as she sat up.

"Piper I am sorry," she said and lowered her head.

"Don't be who knows you may need to pull me before this is over," Piper said and smiled at her. Prue did what she was asks and would tell Piper how to put the shelter together. Most of all it needed a roof to keep the rain off them and the fire. Paige helped by splitting the large ferns to make the covering over their heads as Phoebe and Piper constructed the shelter by using two trees that were close to each other and putting branches across, and then building outward from that. It took over three hours to get it done because of the rain making everything wet and slippery. They put ferns on the platform to make bedding as Phoebe gathered material to make fire but that was going to be a miracle considering how much moisture was in the air. The resin was gone and she could not find a tree that was seeping it on their way. She decided to use the bamboo that they use to boil things in and make shavings out of it as bamboo wood dry quickly. Piper helped Prue up the makeshift ladder and every time she put pressure on the bottom of her feet, it almost made her vomit. Once she was up Piper dried her feet with the fur gently as the purple and red color was still there. Paige was next to climb up and they got the platform ready for sleeping even though there was plenty of daylight left, they learned a long time ago to not wait to make a shelter. Phoebe managed to get the fire going after an hour and a half trying and Piper could not believe how persistent she was when it came to that. Paige opened up the backpack to get some water out as Piper and Phoebe went to get more wood. They also needed food but everywhere they looked there was nothing but trees and even the insects were taking shelter. The last thing they ate was fruit in the morning and that was over 8 hours ago. It was almost impossible to tell how much day light they had left because of the clouds covering the sun and knew it would be a night without food.

To be continued…

A/N:

Who will be the next to feel the dark hart of the forest and what about that tribe, will they catch up to the sisters? Much more to come.


	16. This place sucks!

A/N:

Thanks for the reviews.

Lizardmomma: Yeah Prue definitely needs a food doctor, lol.

Chapter 16

This place sucks!

Phoebe was the first to wake after a long and mostly sleepless night as Piper was putting more wood on the fire. It was the first time she got a really good look at her, she has probably lost over 10 pounds and her arms were sore and red from the scratches that she got from just hiking through the forest. Her normally long and beautiful hair was slightly tangled and dirty. She seemed in a daze while piling the wood on the fire as Phoebe moved around to sit next to her without waking Prue and Paige.

"Hay," Phoebe said and Piper looked at her with a weak smile.

"Hay," she somberly said.

"I keep thinking that our kids will get us back somehow but the dam Elders are probably stopping them."

"You think," Piper said and stopped adding wood to the fire.

"Piper are your arms ok?" Phoebe asks and put her hand on her red sore arms.

"Yeah they don't hurt, its more like paper cut's and what the hell is that?" Piper asks while looking at Phoebe's leg that had a bug on it.

"I don't know," Phoebe replied and was not sure what to do. It was not very big about the size of a tick but was fatter.

"Phoebe its a tick," Piper said and used a hot stick to get it off. It started moving and Phoebe tossed it on the fire to kill it.

"Are you kidding me," Phoebe said and rubbed the area it bit her on.

"That must have been on you the whole night to be that engorged," Piper said as her body shivered and then she started checking herself. "This is when long hair sucks," she said and ran her fingers through her hair but that was difficult considering the knots that have accumulated.

"Ok I will check you, and then you check me," Phoebe said and started looking all over the exposed areas on Piper's body and then her hair. Piper could not help but laugh a little as Phoebe probably looked like a monkey cleaning another. "What?" Phoebe asks as she was starting to giggle.

"This reminds me of high school when the us to do the lice check," Piper replied.

"Yeah I hated those days I was always scared to have it, because it would pretty much just destroy your social status," Phoebe said.

"I am surprised it didn't happen to me," Piper said as Phoebe continued her check and after 45 minutes Piper did the same to Phoebe and only found a few that have not started feeding apparently.

"We need to check Prue and Paige when they get up," Phoebe said and jumped off the platform and her legs felt weak. She started stretching them out thinking they fell asleep in the middle of the night as Piper grabbed a machete.

"Phoebe we need some food so lets just check around here first, until they wake up," Piper said and Phoebe agreed while continuing to stretch.

Piper made her way to a fallen tree and started hacking away at its bark. She was looking for larva that lived in falling trees as she remembered the village and how they showed her how to cook them. They had an almond taste and were great source of protein that they desperately needed. They had plenty of water because of the rain last night that did finally stop as morning came. Piper felt like she was in a sauna as the heat was already intense as she peeled away some of the bark.

"Ewe, Piper I don't want to eat any more bugs," Phoebe said remembering the close call they had before.

"First you guys ate bugs that came out of the bog and second you didn't cook them and third these are fine and a good source of energy," she said and pulled out a handful and put them on a leaf for carrying. She continued to gather enough for all four of them and now had a leaf full of the grubs.

"How are we going to cook them?" Phoebe asks while they headed back to the platform.

"They showed me a way to do it," Piper replied and bundled the leaf so she could tie the top off after putting some water in it. She then used some vine to hang it above the fire to boil them. The leaf was fairly resistant to heat mostly because of the moisture and by hanging it high enough it would not catch on fire, but she had to keep an eye on it. Paige awoke and grunted as she went into the seating position.

"Dam I was hoping this was all a bad dream," she said and Phoebe helped her get up and sit next to her.

"We have breakfast," Phoebe said while checking her out for ticks.

"Yap and what are you doing?" Paige asks.

"Ticks sweetie I found some on me," she replied.

"Why I am not surprised," Paige said with a snort and after thoroughly checking she did not find any.

"You're clear," Phoebe said as Piper adjusted the leaf bag over the fire to keep it from burning.

"So what's for breakfast and I hope its not the ticks?" Paige asks.

"More bugs," Phoebe replied and Paige wrinkled her face as Prue was next to wake up.

"This is why I wanted my own room when we were kids," Prue said and got into a seating position while checking her feet. She felt nauseous already and very weak as Phoebe gave her some water and checked her temperature.

"You don't have a fever, that's good," Phoebe said with relief.

"How can you tell in this heat?" Prue asks.

"Well I could do it a different way, but that is just too close for comfort," Phoebe replied and started checking her for ticks.

"What are you doing?" Prue asks and Phoebe explained. "I never even thought about that, you know with the snakes, Caymans and everything else that want's to kill us here, I guess that just slipped my mind."

"Ok guys time to eat," Piper said and took the leaf bag off and started handing everyone their share. They were hot and even a little crispy as Piper took the first bite and was surprised that they actually tasted a little like almonds." Not bad."

"Done the hatch," Phoebe said and ate hers in one big hand full. "Your right they are not that bad," she said and was surprised. The others ate theirs as well and then drink some water to wash them down. Piper checked Prue's feet but there was not much change in their appearance and now she was very concerned about infection.

"Its ok Piper I just need to stay off of them and keep them dry," Prue said trying to reassure her but Piper was not easily convinced as her natural tendency was to worry.

"Listen Phoebe and I need to look for more food and water while you guys rest," Piper said but Phoebe was not all that ready to move as her legs still felt weak.

"Can we take a minute, I just woke up and my legs are not quite functioning yet?" Phoebe asks while rubbing her legs.

"Sure we are going to stay here until Prue and Paige get a little better and then move on, so take your time sweetie," Piper replied.

"Phoebe I can go," Paige said as she was starting to feel just as bad as Prue when it came to helping out.

"Paige you need to rest," Phoebe said.

"Actually I feel a lot better, that bog really hurt my rib but I can walk ok," Paige said as Phoebe shook her head no.

"Please take the time to get better," Phoebe said as Piper jumped off the platform and gather more wood while waiting for Phoebe to be ready.

Paige and Prue sat there watching as their sisters disappeared into the forest together to get the essentials and both were silent for a moment as they hated being separated and most of all hated being waited on.

"Paige could you hand me that branch?" Prue asks and Paige grabbed the long branch that was on the side of the platform and not attached to anything.

"Sure but what are you going to do with it?"

"Make a walking stick I refused to be dragged along anymore."

"Prue its not your fault."

"Doesn't matter whose fault it is, I need to be able to walk Paige or we are not going to make it at least not together," Prue said while working on the branch.

"Would do you mean not together?"

"You may need to leave me here," Prue replied not looking at her.

"The hell we will," Paige said and Prue made eye contact.

"All you need to do is get to the beacon and break it, after that we all should be returned home including me," Prue said.

"No Prue and that's final," Paige said while putting wood on the fire to avoid her seeing the fear in her eyes. Prue continued working on her stick but the thought of being left alone and not being able to walk was scaring her as well.

Piper and Phoebe have been walking for hours and found some more grubs but not much else as they took a break to get some needed rest. Nothing was easy here not even walking as vines would grab and wrap around their ankles not to mention they had watch for holes and keep an eye on any tree they put their hands on. It was not only physically exhausting but also mentally as every step had to be calculated and their senses had to be on high. They have already ran into a couple snakes and although the temptation to kill them and eat them was high it was also the risk of being bitten, and they let them go. Piper sat quietly for a moment on a log and could hear what sounded like running water in the distance.

"Is that a river?" Piper asks.

"Sounds like it," Phoebe said but the moment she decided to stand her legs felt weak again and it was hard to move them at all. She stood there not sure what to tell Piper as her sister was already heading in the direction of the water.

"Phoebe you coming?" Piper asks when she noticed that she was not following her.

"Yeah," Phoebe replied and finally she was able to make one step and then another but it was like trying to walk on a foot that fell asleep. The river was not that far and Piper stood a good distance away from the edge as she scope the surface. She noticed something floating near a branch and at first thought it was a Cayman but then after keeping her eye on it, she realized it was a backpack.

"Phoebe fill this up," Piper said and handed her the canteen to fill with water. Phoebe took it and cautiously went to the edge and filled it quickly as Piper made her way to the fallen branch and stretched out to get the backpack.

"Piper what are you doing and could you not get that close please?" Phoebe asks as her nerves are on edge. After a few moments of stretching her body out as far as she could, she managed to grab the backpack and pull it to shore.

"Look I think this belonged to one of those explorers," Piper said and opened it up. Luckily it was waterproof and the contents inside were dry. "Oh my god, it's a first aid kit," she said and smiled as she pulled out the assortment of medicines and bandages. There was also morphing, aspirants and alcohol rubs. It was a god send and she almost broke down in tears when she saw a bottle labeled trench foot. "I think this will help Prue," she said and held it up to Phoebe who sat down on the shoreline with her, mostly because her legs were getting weaker.

"Talk about luck, "Phoebe said while rubbing her leg.

"Are you ok?" Piper asks as she put the medicine back in the bag and zipped it up.

"No Piper there is something wrong with my legs," Phoebe replied as she was getting frightened.

"What do you mean?" Piper asks nervously.

"It's hard to move them," Phoebe replied and tried not to panic.

"Ok – ok we get you back to camp and see if there is anything in here that will help, and don't worry you probably just pinched a nerve or something," Piper said but with all the poisonous things out here, she was beginning to think the worst. She helped her stand and Phoebe had to lean on her quite a bit as they made their way back to camp.

Paige was gathering more wood slowly as her sisters came out of the forest and her heart stopped when she saw Phoebe leaning against Piper. "What happened?" she asks and tried to help.

"Its ok, I think I pinched a nerve last night and my legs don't want to work correctly," Phoebe said as Prue was using her walking stick to stand up on the platform ready to jump off. "Prue don't I'm fine but we have good news," she said as Piper helped her up the platform.

"Really," Prue said a little suspicious.

"Piper found a backpack with medical supplies," Phoebe said and Prue smiled for first time in a while and so did Paige. Piper emptied it out on the platform and immediately gave the bottle for trench foot to Prue. It was a mixture of pills and some kind of rub. Prue read the directions and started the process of healing her feet. Paige took out some of the 6" stretch gauze roll and took off her shirt to wrap her ribs correctly and immediately felt a huge relief as the pressure subdued the pain.

"Piper you rock," Paige said as they could now get a good look at the 147 Piece First Responder Kit at least that is what it said on the bag after closer inspection. It was also adapted to the Amazon and had some anti-venom for the common poisonous snakes, but they had no idea how to use it. Some of the things would have instructions and some would not, but this was a lifesaver. After Prue finished doing her treatment on her feet that she would need to do at least two times a day, she focused on Piper's arms. There were alcohol strips and she started cleaning the scratches including the on her shoulder. This was the equivalent of finding the wild pig when they were at the village and could not help but smile as Piper started cooking the grubs.

"I just feel bad for the person who was wearing this," Piper said as she found it in the water and assumed that something got him or her.

"Look at all this stuff but I really like the morphing," Phoebe said and then tried to stand but found she could not move her legs at all now. She continued to try as her breathing quickened.

"Phoebe what's wrong?" Prue asks.

"I – I can't move my legs," Phoebe replied and her upper body was shaking.

"Did you get bit by something while you were out?" Prue asks while rubbing her back.

"No I don't think so," Phoebe replied.

"Wait what about that tick I found on you this morning?" Piper asks as she started looking through the medicine for anything.

"A tick is going to do this?" Phoebe asks as Paige started looking through her little book.

"Did it look like this?" Paige asks and showed her a picture.

"Yes why?" Phoebe asks as she continued to try to move just her toe. Paige began to read the description under the picture and she was showing concern on her face but was trying to hide it. "Paige."

"Its called the Adult scrub tick and if it was female, it has toxins in its bite that can cause paralysis," Paige replied and they all just sat there not sure what to say.

"Paralysis, you mean I am stuck this way?" Phoebe asks and was about to hyperventilate.

"No – no sweetie it only last for 24 to 48 hours but we need to make sure it doesn't move up your body," Paige replied trying to keep her from panicking.

"What do you mean up her body?" Piper asks.

"It could affect her respiratory and heart functions if it continues to spread," Paige replied and Piper closed her eyes tight as she knew what that meant. She could go completely paralyzed and stop breathing, basically suffocating to death or her heart could stop. She began to look through the medicines frantically as they all did while Phoebe was in a state of shock.

"There's nothing here for that, at least I don't think so," Prue said and her body slumped.

"Its going to be ok Phoebe I mean its just your legs right?" Paige asks and tried to give her a reassuring smile as Prue saw an emergency airway kit and hoped they would not have to use it.

To be continued…


	17. Losing patience

A/N:

Thanks for the reviews everyone.

Chapter 17

Losing patience

It was another long night with one eye opened and one closed as it was almost impossible to get a good night's sleep. Phoebe could still not move her legs and Paige could only lie on one side because of her rib and she would wake up with nightmares about snakes most of the time and Prue had to calm her down. Piper was doing the same as the bog left a horrible impression on her psyche and Phoebe would have dreams about the jag that attacked her. Any time Prue saw an ant she almost jumped off the platform thinking it was the bullet ant. All of them were jumpy all the time and just wanted to get home. They still had no idea how far they were from the Beacon and because of injuries had to stay in one place for a length of time until they felt better. They were all becoming quite lethargic as food and water was not a few steps away to a refrigerator or could turn on a faucet to get some. Rain was the only way and sometimes that would even elude them at times. There was a river close by but it took two of them to go to it as no one wanted to go alone. Piper was the only one truly capable of performing the normal task but she was starting to feel weak and cold like symptoms was coming on her. She believed it was just exhaustion and kept it to herself because the others had enough on their plate at the moment. Paige could help in some things but it was slow moving and she would pay for it later on during the day if she did too much.

"Piper I can go with you," Paige said as Piper was getting the canteen to retrieve more water as the morning broke.

"Ok," Piper said as she did not want to go alone.

"Be careful guys," Prue said and took a look at her feet. For once there was an improvement as the coloring was going back to normal but still they were very sore and it was hard to stand for any length of time.

"We will," Piper said and she with Paige started the hour-long walk to the river as Phoebe woke up.

"Hay how are your legs?" Prue asks after doing the treatment on her feet.

"Same," Phoebe replied and uses her arms to get into a sitting position. "Where is Piper and Paige?"

"They went to get some water," Prue replied while tending to the fire.

"How can it be so hot already?" Phoebe asks while looking at her arms that are already wet with perspiration.

"I know," Prue replied and wiped her forehead.

Paige and Piper finally made it to the small river and as usual looked over the water before even getting close. Paige picked up a rock and tossed it in just in case there was something under the surface they could not see. Once they felt it was save they put the canteen in the water as Paige kept a lookout.

"Maybe we should try to fish?" Paige asks.

"With what Paige our good looks?" Piper replied and Paige rolled her eyes.

"We just catch Caymans with that," Paige said as Piper has been attracting them lately. Piper finished filling the canteen and immediately backed away from the water.

"I guess we could use the parachute as some kind of net," Paige said but the thought of going back to get it was just too exhausting.

"The waters pretty clear maybe we can use a spear or something?" Paige suggested and Piper put her hand to her mouth as she was feeling sick. "Piper are you ok?"

"No," she said and went over to a tree and vomited. "I think I just need some water," she said but she looked pale.

"And some food, listen I will go back and get the parachute and you stay here ok," Paige said but Piper shook her head.

"No we go nowhere alone and I am not staying here by myself, we should try to make a spear," she said and Paige made her sit down as she looked for branches that would work. It took her over a half an hour to make one and then she went to the water that was only about 2 feet deep. Piper was extremely nervous as she entered and got up to look up and down the river, checking for any movement. Paige had to stay completely still so she would not scare the fish away but she liked how it cooled her down and she could clean herself off after she caught something.

"Piper this water is cold and it feels great, maybe you should step in for a minute?" Paige asks.

"No that's ok," Piper replied as she played with her hands in front of her showing her nerves.

"It will help you feel better," Paige said.

"Paige I am not getting in," Piper said and was clearly getting frustrated with the question.

"Fine suit yourself," she said and saw a fish that was coming close to her. It was rather large for a river fish but it was the Amazon after all and everything seemed to be a monster, whether small or big. She readied her spear and hopes to kill it before it took a chunk out of her. Piper got a good look at it as well and it was half the size of Paige.

"Paige get out!" Piper yelled as her baby sister stabbed at it with the spare but it just pissed it off and thrashed about as Paige struggled to hold on.

"Piper help me!" she said while struggling to keep her hands on the branch. Piper jumped in and tried to grab the fish but it was strong and hard to get a hold of as fish are naturally slippery. "Try to get it to the shoreline," Paige said and pushed the spear towards the shore.

"You couldn't find a smaller one?" Piper asks while trying to guide it.

"Well I'm sorry that after standing here for over an hour this was the only one that got close enough," Paige replied while using all her might to get it on the shore. Finally after struggling for 15 minutes it was on land and still thrashing around.

"Ouch dammit!" Piper said as she held her hand.

"What – what happened?" Paige asks while keeping one hand on the branch to make sure their dinner did not get away.

"I think its a cat fish,," she replied and could see its long whiskers and the fins on the side that are like barbs. Her hand was bleeding and she covered it with the other.

"Are you ok?" Paige asks as Piper kept pressure on it.

"No," Piper replied and went to vomit again as she hated the sight of blood. Paige had to keep the fish away from the water and used her machete to kill it while Piper finished but had to sit down. She put her arms on her knees and rested her head on her forearms to catch her breath.

"This will be a good meal for us," Paige said trying to cheer up Piper who just grunted at the fact she was going to have to gut it. "I will hang it up so we can get it ready, I think we should not do that at camp considering what happened with the Jaguar," she said and looked for some vine to hang it from.

"Paige I need a minute ok," Piper said as she was to the point of passing out. Paige took the canteen of water and dumped it on her sisters head in hopes to cool her down, but it just pissed her off.

"Paige what the hell!" Piper said as she was trying to get over the shock of cold water.

"Sorry I thought it would help," Paige replied and went back to fill it up again.

"No it just made me wet," Piper said and tried to stand up but got dizzy and just fell back down.

"Piper I can do it, just relax ok," Paige said nervously as she had no idea on how to get her back if she passed out and leaving her alone unconscious this close to the river would not be a good idea. She wanted to give her a drink of water but it needed to be boiled first and she was not the best at making a fire. The best option was to gut the fish quickly and get back to camp. Piper said nothing as she was trying to keep from passing out as Paige finished hanging the large fish and it must have weighed about 50 pounds. "Ok honey what do I do first?"

"Slice it down the center and remove the guts," Piper replied as Paige did what she said but was a little lost on where the guts were. "I can do it," she said noticing the pause from Paige.

"I can get it. Just give me a moment to find it," she said but Piper was already standing and pulled out the guts and tossed it into the river. It was slow work as she was fighting exhaustion, thirst and hunger at the same time. Normally you can eat fish uncooked but in this place it was safer to cook it. Paige grabbed some large leafs to put the meat on and wrapped it up to keep it fresh as possible as Piper discarded the rest while her hand was still bleeding. She did not have anything to put on it and it was hard to keep it off the meat.

"Ok we can go back now," Paige said as Piper just stood there breathing heavily. "Piper."

"Paige I don't know if I can make it back," Piper said.

"Yes you can because I'm not leaving you here alone," Paige said and put her arms around Piper's waste and made her put her arm around her neck. "Just use me ok."

"Paige your rib," Piper said as she was now moving forward.

"Its fine Piper now come on," Paige said and made her move while holding onto the meat. Piper had her hand to her side to keep the bleeding down but after 30 minutes of walking she just let her hand fall to the side creating a small blood trail. A few times she went to her knees and Paige had to lift her up and get her to walk again while her rib was hurting badly and she too was dehydrated. They made it back to camp and Paige laid Piper down on the ground as Prue gingerly got down off the platform to help.

"What happened?" Prue asks as she saw blood on Piper's hand.

"She just needs water and food, she will be ok." Paige replied and took the food to the platform where Phoebe was sitting up. "Here start cooking this," she said.

"Paige I have no idea how to prepare this," Phoebe said as Piper did all the cooking and some things required certain knowledge of how to cook it so it did not make you sick.

"She is a little indisposed right now so just put it on the fire," Paige said getting frustrated as her head was pounding. She put the canteen near the fire to get it to boil and it would take over 10 minutes to be safe enough to drink.

"Paige get me the medicine bag," Prue said as she looked at Piper's hand. It was a long cut but any open wound here could mean infection within a couple of hours if not properly taken care of. Paige grabbed the bag and took it to her. "Piper are you ok?" Prue asks softly as her eyes would open and close slowly. She nodded as Prue put alcohol on the cut and she cringed as it stung a little. Phoebe skewered the meat and used the two sticks that had a fork in them to hang the meat from as the water was boiling.

"Ok the water is ready," Phoebe said but everything was a task as she could not move her legs and now her back was starting to go numb. Prue grabbed it and had to wait for it to cool so Piper could take a drink.

"You're not going anywhere until you are better Piper," Prue said as she knew Piper really needed the rest.

"Ok," she said as Prue gave her a drink of warm water.

Paige helped Prue get Piper to the platform so she could rest and get her hand taken care of. Phoebe did the best she could with the meat and Piper took over wants she got some water into her. It took about 20 minutes for the food to be ok to eat and they ate for the first time in 16 hours. Prue made Piper take a nap as she was getting her color back to her. They covered her up with the parachute to keep the bugs off as they all took some time to let the food settle in their stomachs.

"Oh god that was good," Phoebe said rubbing her back.

"Yeah is your back ok?" Prue asks nervously.

"Its fine just stiff," Phoebe replied but her insides were screaming as the fear of going completely paralyzed was there.

"Phoebe don't lie to me if something is wrong then tell me," Prue said as she was getting frustrated with the lack of communication with her sisters when it came to their illnesses.

"Fine my back is going numb but I'm sure it's nothing," Phoebe said as she scooted back to lean on a tree branch.

"See this is what makes me mad, we can't just let things go here until its too late to take care of it. Piper should have said she did not feel well before going to the river," Prue said as she tossed wood on the fire.

"She was just dehydrated and needed food Prue and its not like you can go or Phoebe, so we did not have much of a choice," Paige said while re-wrapping her ribs.

"Yes I could have Paige, I'm not saying it would've been fast, but I could have walked down there."

"And then what your feet get worse to the point you can't use them at all, because that makes sense," Paige angrily said as she got down from the platform to gather more wood.

"We just need to talk more about how we are feeling," Prue said as Piper moved the parachute up and over her head as she tried to get some rest.

"Will you both shut up," Piper muffled voice broke up the argument for now.

Phoebe rested her head on the branch and closed her eyes to get some sleep as Paige hacked away on the trees to get more fire wood. No one spoke as the night came once again and this time brought rain and cold with it. Down by the river a fork tongue was tasting the air and followed the blood trial up the path that Piper and Paige have been using to get water.

Back at camp they all got under the parachute but instead of being huddled close to each other, they kept a small separation, as they were apparently still angry with each other. Prue would periodically check on Piper and Phoebe to make sure they were ok but not much was said as they just nodded and went back to sleep. The rain did not last long and the mosquitoes were out in force.

To be continued…


	18. When things come out to play

A/N:

Thanks for the reviews everyone.

Chapter 18

When things come out to play

The next day did not start off well as Piper was getting sick and Phoebe could no longer move her lower half from her chest down, and she was beginning to panic because her lungs or heart could stop working. Prue's feet were still sore but at least she could walk now. Paige was also sore but it was manageable as she talked to Phoebe to calm her down.

"You only have a few more hours and then the venom should be through your system," Phoebe said while reading the section in the book about the tick bite.

"Ok- ok," Phoebe said but she was breathing in short breaths. She could only move her head and a little of her arms but her back was useless and could not sit herself up. Prue was over by Piper as she threw up for the third time this morning and her skin was clammy.

"Piper you need to lay down," Prue said as she helped her get back on the platform.

"We need water," Piper said but it came out like it took every bit of strength just to speak.

"I know and I will go get it, but you need to stay here," Prue said and helped her sit down next to Phoebe who was on the verge of hyperventilating.

"I will go with you," Paige said and got up to get off the platform. Prue was already down and was gathering the necessary equipment she would need, like the canteen along with the spear. Once Paige got out of hearing distance from Piper and Phoebe she decided to have a talk.

"Paige I need you to stay here, I have no idea what is wrong with Piper and she is too out of it to keep an eye on Phoebe," Prue said and awaited Paige to protest.

"You the one who always says we never go anywhere alone and now you're about to?" Paige said but knew it was the only option.

"Trust me, if I had a choice I wouldn't, but we don't so stay here and I will be back," Prue said and started heading off.

"Prue what about your feet?" Paige asks.

"There fine, the medicine is working. Try to find out what is wrong with Piper while I am gone," Prue replied and headed off down the path they have been taking.

Prue made her way down to the river while taking her time as her feet were still tender. It took her over two hours to reach the water and the heat was making her thirsty and hot. She took a break before getting close to the water and made sure to scope it out first. She was on edge because of being alone and the rain has made the river a little larger so there was not much land before the river started. After a few moments of rest she went to the water's edge and put the canteen in. Her eyes are always looking at the water for any movement as she filled it. She was finished but her she could see an odd line in the mud that was coming from the water and up the trail. It was long and made a zig sag imprint.

"Oh god," she said as the size and the length indicated a huge anaconda heading for camp. She had no idea how she passed it on the way but it could have gone a different direction or it could be waiting for nightfall. She started back up in a rush in the process of being panicked, she missed a marking that would have kept her on the path and was now going a different direction.

Paige was checking the book as Piper was rocking back and forth trying to keep from vomiting again. She finely found something that might be the cause of Piper's illness.

"Piper are you getting chills?" Paige asks.

"Yes," she replied while taking in deep breaths as Paige checked for a fever and she felt hot.

"What about a headache, fatigue or the sweats?" she asks but in this place some of it could be because of the lack of food and the fact that it was already 90°.

"Yes," Piper replied.

"Ok sweetie just try to relax, Prue will be back with the water soon," Paige said as she started looking through the medicine bag for malaria pills.

"What, she went alone?" Piper asks.

"I tried to stop her but you're in no condition to keep the fire going and to take care of Phoebe," Paige replied as she found a bottle labeled malaria medication.

"I could have gone," Piper said clearly frustrated.

"Is there any water?" Phoebe asks.

"No but I can see if there is any water vine around here," Paige said and got down off the platform.

"Paige don't go far," Piper said as the thought of another sister being alone out here was too much. She moved next to Phoebe and put her arm under her head to help her up. "Phoebe you ok?" she asks while stroking her hair.

"Not good," Phoebe replied as she started to calm down with Piper holding her on her lap.

"Its going to be ok," Piper said as Paige continued to cut at some vines but was coming up empty.

"Piper you don't look well," Phoebe said as she got a look at Piper's pale and sweaty face. She could feel Piper's hands shaking under her head and her breathing was fast but shallow.

"I'm just exhausted that's all," Piper replied but she was more than exhausted. It was hard to keep her eyes open as her body would get cold and then hot again. She also had a huge migraine that any noise would make it feel like someone had her head in a vice and just kept squeezing. Paige read the instructions for the pills and knew that Piper needed water in order to take them, but she still could not find any. She came back as Piper was either falling asleep or passing out and got back up on the platform.

"Piper are you with me?" Paige asks and Piper nodded but kept her eyes closed. "I am going to check some leafs for water ok," she said and got back down to find if any leafs held some water on them caused by the rain. She managed to find a cup of liquid after about 20 minutes of searching and brought it back to them. She gave Piper a pill with a drink and then gave the rest to Phoebe. She figured that Prue would be back soon and they would have enough water for the day. With four people it does not last long.

Prue has been walking for at least an hour and began to notice that something was off. She stopped for a moment to get her bearings. She had water but it was not suitable to drink as she found some water vine. She cut it and drank some before she started yelling in hopes she was not that far off the trail.

"Paige!" she yelled and waited for a reply and her panicked began to grow with each yell and no reply.

"Fuck!" she said and started heading the direction she believed they were in. Her feet were starting to hurt and it was getting later in the day and she was getting more worried with each step she took. She would stop and yell but again no response.

Back at camp Piper could no longer stay awake and she was shaking because of the chills as Paige tried to calm herself down as well as Phoebe. It has been over three hours sense Prue left and even she knew she was moving slowly, she should be back soon.

"Here Piper put this over you," Paige said and gave her the fur to keep her warm. Piper grabbed it and brought it up to her chin as she felt like she had the flu.

"Thanks," she said but it was hard to hear as she was in and out of consciousness.

"Prue should be back soon," Paige said while attending to Phoebe who was not sure what was going on.

"Paige is she ok?"

"I think she has malaria but I found some pills in the medicine bag and gave her some, so she should be ok," Paige replied but she was very worried that it was too late to start them. She read that it usually takes up to seven days to get the symptoms and they have only been there for five, so it could be an infection or just a cold.

"We really need to get out of here," Phoebe said as she tried to move but nothing would work but her head and a little of her arms.

"I know Phoebe and we will once you can walk again. We will probably need to put Piper on a sled and pull her along until she gets better," Paige said as she kept looking at the trial they followed the river awaiting Prue.

Prue has been gone for hours and was completely lost she was getting frightened and was not paying attention to where she was walking. She felt her legs go out from under her but managed to grab hold of a fallen branch that was over top of a large hole. She was hanging over a gap and struggling to keep herself from falling in to a 20 foot drop.

"Come on just climb," she said as she lifted her leg over and onto the branch and then brought up her other leg. She then started pulling herself along the branch until reaching solid ground. She rolled on her back getting her breath back and knew she needed to calm down or she would get hurt. She sat up but then looked around the forest as the realization she is lost sank in. She just wanted to run in any direction but she needed to keep her cool. She stood up and this time really kept an eye on where she was walking and used a method she learned from Andy. It was called Dead reckoning and would pick something in the distance to focus on, once she got to it, she would pick another point like a tree or anything that stuck out to make her way too.

It was now getting dark and Paige was pacing back and forth while Piper was asleep and Phoebe kept asking where Prue was. She should have been back hours ago and she was now in a dilemma, of leaving Phoebe who is completely helpless and Piper who is in and out of consciousness alone to find Prue. Anything could have happened, her feet could have gave out, she could've been attacked by something or fell and was not able to move.

"Paige what's going on dammit?" Phoebe asks as she was getting upset with her not replying and very concerned about Prue.

"I don't know what to do Phoebe," Paige replied as she got on the platform.

"You need to go find her," Phoebe replied as Paige checked on Piper who was shaking and mumbling. She put her hand to Piper's head to check her temperature and it felt very hot.

"I can't just leave you guys alone," Paige said.

"We can't leave Prue alone out there, she could be hurt," Phoebe said but her chest was feeling tight as her breathing was becoming harder.

"Can you breathe ok?" Paige asks noticing.

"No but I think its just fear," Phoebe replied but Paige was not convinced as her lungs could be locking up as it was a muscle.

"Phoebe I need to help you breathe," Paige said and pulled out the kit for helping someone breathe.

"Go get Prue!" she yelled but while taking in a breath it felt like a truck was sitting on her chest.

Paige's hands were shaking as she forced Phoebe's mouth open and after reading the instructions of how to place the tube she stuck it down her windpipe. Phoebe gagged and almost vomited as it went down and then Paige used the bag to pump air into her lungs. Phoebe could feel her lungs expand and her lightheadedness was going away but the tube was extremely uncomfortable and now she could not speak.

"I'm sorry Phoebe but I need to help you breathe right now, once Piper is awake she can help you and I can go look for Prue," she said through tears as she would continue to keep Phoebe from suffocating. Phoebe's eyes were wide open and she was now terrified that Piper was too bad off and Prue was either lost or hurt.

Night was on them and still no sign of Prue as Paige continued to breathe for Phoebe. She was very dehydrated, hungry and exhausted but she could not stop or Phoebe would die. Piper woke up and was very dazed at first but once she sat her eyes on Paige and Phoebe she snapped back to reality.

"Oh god is she ok?" Piper asks but was so weak she could barely sit up.

"Piper can you get some more wood for the fire while I do this," Paige asks but her sisters blank stare was pretty much the answer. "Ok here just squeeze every 3 seconds and I will get some more wood, but then I need to look for Prue," she said and Piper took the bag in her hand. Phoebe's eyes set on hers and she could see how scared she was.

"Its ok sweetie, you're ok," Piper said and counted as Paige gathered wood.

Prue was standing in thick forest as darkness surrounded her. It was impossible to see 2 feet ahead and knew she would need to stay put because she would just get more lost if she continued. She found a large fallen tree and after cleaning it off, she sat on it. She was starving and the few water vines she found did not quench her thirst as she checked her feet. With no means of making fire she was at the mercy of anything that hunted at night. All she could think about was the Anaconda and if it made its way to camp or not. Paige was the only one who could defend her sisters but her broken rib could make that task very difficult. They also had no water or food unless Paige or Piper managed to find some. She was alone in the Amazon sitting on a log with no fire. Tears finally escaped her eyes as a long night was ahead of her.

Paige was cutting down some branches when she hurts a movement of breaking limbs near the platform. She looked over and could see something large moving on the ground but with very little light it was hard to make out. Piper was still giving Phoebe needed oxygen but was having difficulty staying conscious as she coughed. Paige put her machete in front of her and began to walk towards whatever was moving on the ground but it change direction and now she could see what it was.

"Shit!" she yelled while stretching out her arm with the machete for defense.

"Paige what is it?" Piper asks and forgot to count and Phoebe grunted as she could not breathe. "Sorry," she said and gave her needed oxygen.

"Don't move," Paige said as the 20 foot snake was making its way to her and Paige started to back up as she remembered the last encounter she had with one.

"Paige get up here!" Piper yelled as she could feel herself slipping away.

"Kind of blocked right now," Paige replied as the snake reared up its head as it was about to strike. Paige was ready to swing but something else jumped out of the darkness and grabbed the snake by the neck. The two struggled as they rolled around on the ground and Paige took the opportunity and ran for the platform.

"What is that?" Piper asks referring to whatever tackled the snake.

"I don't know," Paige replied and started looking through the bag and found a flare gun. She pulled it out and fired it into the air and it lit up the forest around them, and then is when they got a look at what attacked the snake. It was a black Jaguar and there was no way of telling who was winning. "I should help it," Paige said as the snake was wrapped around the jag as it bit down hard on the neck.

"The hell you will Paige, you stay right here because I think I'm going to pass out," Piper said and started swaying. Paige had no choice but to take over as Piper collapsed but did not land on the platform instead on the hard ground.

"Piper!" she yelled as the jag was still struggling with the snake. She could hear crunching noises coming from the jags teeth as they penetrated the hard skin of the snake but could also hear the snake squeezing the large cat.

"Phoebe I need to get Piper back up here," she said and gave Phoebe one more breath and ran down the stairs to the platform and struggled to get Piper back up. It took over 10 seconds and Phoebe was grunting and struggling to breathe. Once she got Piper up she gave Phoebe some air. Paige was in a lot of pain as her ribs were aching after caring Piper up the platform and she too was getting queasy. "Oh god help us," she said while counting and keeping her eye on whoever will win between the struggles.

Prue's eyes widened when she saw a reddish light in the distance and knew it was a flare," Good job Paige," she said and headed towards the glow that was still there but it was fading. It was difficult to keep track of where she was going and used another method in the darkness. She attached a vine to herself and would periodically look behind her to make sure she was going in a straight line. She then had to pull the 10 foot vine up to her and repeat the process. It took her over an hour until she finally saw a different kind of glow, one from a fire.

"Paige!" Prue yelled as she started crying out of happiness.

"Prue!" Paige yelled back and her heart lifted. Prue came out of the darkness as the jag apparently won its battle and dragged the snake off but left quite a bit of that behind. Paige was still using the bag to give Phoebe air as Prue made her way to the platform and hugged her.

"Prue I thought you were," she started to say.

"I know sweetie, I'm sorry I got lost but your flare saved my butt," she said.

"There was a huge snake but then a Jaguar came and I can't do this anymore," she said as her hand was cramping.

"I got it, take a moment to rest and then try to get some of that snake, we can eat it," Prue said and took over for Paige. The baby sister sat back and got herself calm again as the family was back together but Phoebe would require someone to breathe for her until she could move on her own. Piper was still unconscious as Prue used her other hand to put the canteen on the fire. Paige finally had enough strength to get some of the snake left behind and after gutting it the best she could, she put it on the fire. Piper and Phoebe were both not capable of eating at the moment but her and Prue had to eat something or they would not be able to help their sisters. It was a long night as they had to take turns keeping Phoebe alive and Piper hydrated because she was vomiting. Phoebe had the longest night of her life as she had to rely on someone else to keep her breathing but was happy to see Prue with them. She could slowly start to feel her arms coming back the closer they got to morning and realized that venom was wearing off but was still too scared to try to breathe on her own. Finally after a few hours after morning she could feel her legs and her arms were moving normally. Prue took out the tube which caused Phoebe to throw up and she had issues at first taking in a breath. She arched her back and sucked in air on her own.

"Thank god," Prue said and hugged her. Paige gave her some leftover cooked snake and water, but Phoebe was shaken up by the whole experience and they had to hold the canteen for her while she drank.

"That ranks number one on my worst experience ever," she said while sitting up.

"Can you keep an eye on Piper while Paige and I get some rest?" Prue asks.

"Yeah what about her pills?" Phoebe asks.

"She needs to take them twice a day and with food and water, so once she is up give her some water and snake then the pills," Paige replied as she laid down next to Prue.

To be continued…


	19. Was that a fin?

A/N:

Thanks for the reviews everyone.

Chapter 19

Was that a fin?

It was morning and the night was long as they were worried about the jag coming back and Piper who was in and out of consciousness most of the night. Prue already started working on the sled that they could use to pull Piper along as Phoebe was putting out the fire.

"Paige I just wanted to thank you for keeping me alive yesterday," Phoebe said as she came down the platform.

"You can buy me a new purse and shoes to match when we get back," Paige said while trying to put the backpack on but was having some issues.

"I got it," Phoebe said and took it from her. Prue's feet were finally almost back to normal and as long as they took breaks and she kept using the medicine, they should be fine.

"Ok guys help me get Piper," Prue said and Phoebe helped her get Piper down from the platform and put her on the sled they made out of tree branches.

"I checked her for infection and her arms look ok just a little red and her leg is pretty much healed up," Paige said.

"Then it has to be malaria or a bad cold," Prue said and after making sure Piper would not fall off she pulled out her compass.

"The medication should help right?" Phoebe asks while grabbing the end near Piper's feet.

"Yeah but the sooner we get home the better," Prue replied and they started walking into the dense forest once again. The rain was also starting and although it would fill the canteen and two water bottles it would soak them to the bone and played havoc on their emotions as it made the place darker and made every step more difficult to make. Prue had the other backpack with the medicine in it while they carried Piper on the wooden structure. She would need to stop and let it rest on a fallen tree as she stepped over it and then Phoebe would need to do the same. It was slow moving but after two hours walking Prue could hear the river that was running next to them." Hay wait," she said and laid down the structure as she made her way to the side of the river. It was wide and seemed to be going the same direction as they were. "Ok new plan," she said after coming back to them.

"The river?" Paige asks.

"Yeah it will save us some time and make it easier. We will follow it until it turns away from the beacon and then go through the jungle," Prue replied and although they were not fond of the river, right now they were not fond of the jungle.

"We will need to keep an eye on it, because of the rain," Paige said as flash floods were very common. They took Piper down to the shoreline and started the process of making a raft. There was bamboo in with all three of them it took only two hours to assemble. Prue climbed on first and then they put Piper on it while she was still on the structure. She would occasionally wake up and start mumbling talking about Leo or her kids. They had to keep her hydrated as she was vomiting quite often. Prue made sure to untie her from the structure just in case the raft turned over. She didn't want her to be tied to it and drowned as they made their way down the river. It was fairly calm and moved at a manageable speed down the water. At times they could even relax a little and Prue could check her feet while Paige gave Piper fresh water. The rain was coming down in a steady pace and there was not a dry spot anywhere, not even on the raft. Phoebe pulled out the parachute and put it over Piper to keep her warm as she was apparently having the chills and to get her dry.

"You're ok sweetie," Phoebe said while stroking her soaked hair.

"This is so much better than walking in the forest," Paige said as she paddled in the back.

"So far we are going in the same direction as the beacon and it looks pretty straight for a while at least," Prue said.

"We should stop and try to find food soon," Phoebe said as the snake meat they had earlier was gone.

"I know but we might need to wait until the rain stops," Prue said as she started paddling again to get them away from the edge.

They floated on the river for another three hours until finally their hunger made them stop on a shoreline. After tethering the raft they sat down and started to think of what to eat and how to even catch anything. Piper rose up from her structure looking completely confused.

"Piper are you ok?" Prue asks while getting the canteen ready for her to drink from.

"Where are we?" Piper asks as she took the water.

"In the Amazon," Prue replied not knowing for sure if she was completely with her or not.

"Yeah Prue I know that but I thought we were going for the beacon," Piper said as she took a drink.

"The river is going in the same direction for now, so I thought we take it," Prue said and checked her temperature as the rain finally ceased.

"Oh," Piper said.

"Maybe we can fish," Paige said while looking at the parachute.

"The water is kind of muddy Paige and I don't know how deep it is," Phoebe said as she looked out over it.

"Its worth a try," Paige said and grabbed two branches and attach them to each end to make some kind of net.

Piper was staring at the water's edge as she still felt pretty horrible and weak but she got a look at something moving and recognizes that shape. "Turtle," she said while pointing.

"What Piper?" Prue asks and looked in the direction she was pointing to.

"Get it," she said but it was already under the water.

"Get what?"

"Turtle," Piper replied and slumped her body as it was gone, "Never mind."

"Ok sweetie just let us take care of you for right now," Prue said as she did not see anything and believed she was hallucinating as her and the turtle have a history. Prue grabbed one end of the parachute while Phoebe grabbed the other and they stepped into the water nervously. They got up to their waist and spread out the parachute. Paige put a few holes in it so the water would go through it and not drag them.

"Come on little fishy's," Phoebe said as she hated being in the water for this long. Piper was starting to mumble again about the turtle as Paige kept an eye on Prue and Phoebe.

Piper looked to the right and saw something else she recognized and shook her head as it was not possible.

"Phoebe let me take over, you need a break," Paige said and Phoebe who was still recovering from her tick incident did not argue.

"Take it easy Paige, your rib," Phoebe said and sat next to Piper who was squinting down the river. Paige took the end Phoebe was holding and they would occasionally pull out the parachute to check for any fish but found none. Again Piper saw what looked like a fin of a shark and then just snorted.

"What is it Piper?" Phoebe asks as Piper looked at her and leaned in.

"I think that I am going crazy, because I swear I saw a shark fin," Piper replied and Phoebe giggled.

"You are losing it," Phoebe said and started looking at the water.

Paige and Prue were having no luck until something rammed hard into Paige's leg and the parachute. She screamed as she went under the water. Prue did not stand there as before and dropped her side as she got a look at what took her under. It was a shark that was about 7 feet in length and was stuck on the parachute as Paige emerged but blood was also filling the water around her. Phoebe and Piper both were in shock as the thought of a shark being in freshwater was something of nightmares and not reality. The sharks struggled to get free as Prue pulled out her machete and started slicing away, but its tough exterior kept it from getting cut to pieces as Paige crawled up on the shoreline and her entire body was shaking as she turned around to see her attacker. She expected a Cayman or Anaconda but not a shark. Phoebe finally got to her feet as Piper tried to get to hers but a wave of dizziness hit her hard and she fell back down on her backside as Phoebe made her way to Paige. Prue could see her baby sister was out of the water and let the shark go because she did not want to get bit by it.

"Paige!" Phoebe yelled and got down next to her. She could see blood coming from her leg and tore open her pants near the upper thigh to see how bad it was.

"Shark how the hell can a shark be here?" Paige said through stutters as Prue kneeled down next to her and took her hand.

"The medicine bag," Prue said as Piper tried once again to stand but could not and just crawled over to them.

"Is she ok?" Piper asks while Prue got the bag.

Phoebe wiped the blood away and could see a roll of teeth marks that wrapped around her upper leg. "Oh god," she said as her panic started to kick in.

"Paige lay down its ok," Prue said and pulled out large bandages.

"Ok," Paige said but her body was still shaking.

"Let me see," Prue said and felt slightly relieved when she saw it was just bite marks and not her leg ripped to shreds. "The parachute most have gotten in its way and it could not bite down all the way," she said and started cleaning the wounds.

"See sweetie you're ok," Phoebe said while holding her hand. Prue had to take off Paige's pants as the bite went all the way around but it was mostly small punctures and she could just put bandages on them after cleaning them with alcohol. Now Paige was starting to feel the pain of the bite as the shock was wearing off. It burned at first and then felt like small stab wounds. Prue pulled out the morphine and put a little in the syringe and then put it in her arm. It only took a few moments and Paige was seeing little lights around everyone and was even smiling a bit. Prue finished up taking care of her injury and they sat there as Paige was trying to poke the little lights while Phoebe held her in a sitting position and Piper was laying down trying to get her head to stop spinning.

"What the fuck was that?" Prue finally ask.

"Bull shark," Phoebe replied as she remembered seeing a special on them and how they can go into freshwater.

"Are you kidding me?" Prue said as she drank some water from the canteen.

"Piper saw it but I thought she was just seeing things," Phoebe replied.

"I don't want to take the river anymore," Piper said while still on her back.

"That's a no-brainer," Phoebe chimed in.

Prue looked up at the sky and could see they did not have much daylight left and knew they needed a shelter but she was already filling weak because of the lack of food. Phoebe started putting things back into the bag and found something at the bottom that was wrapped in plastic. She pulled it out and her face lit up.

"MRE," she said and Prue looked over at it.

"What?"

"It's an entire meal that we can eat," Phoebe replied and used her machete to open the plastic and started laying out what was in it. "It's what the military uses."

"That's been in there the whole time and we didn't see it?" Prue asks as she looked at some of the packages. "Peanut butter and crackers, Pop Tart, Cheese Tortellini with Marinara Sauce, oatmeal cookie and a drink mix," she said and was amazed at how much was there as Phoebe pulled out a bag that looked like a way to heat the food. There was also a package of salt water used to cause the chemical reaction inside the bag.

"Ok it takes 12 minutes for this to get hot enough," Phoebe said and opened the bag as Prue got the salt water ready.

"Listen, we just eat this and save the rest for tomorrow," Prue said and Phoebe nodded as Paige was still clearly feeling the effects working as she played with the plastics spoon.

"Got it," Phoebe said and gathered four leafs so she could portion out the meal. Prue got a spark of life in her as she knew that they would eat soon and started working on a simple shelter. It would get them off the ground but they would have no roof for tonight and a fire was not necessary to cook, but still needed something to protect them. Phoebe grabbed some bamboo and started stripping it creating a small pile of wood shavings that were dry as the food cooked inside the bag. After what she thought was at least 12 minutes she took the green bag out of the other and it was very hot to the touch.

"I love the military, this is so clever," Phoebe said as she opened up the food and spooned out the portions. It was the first actual food they have had in six days and every bite was heaven.

"I can't believe how good this is," Prue said after giving some to Piper and Paige before sitting down and eating hers.

"Oh god this is so good," Phoebe chimed in as Piper eight very slowly.

"Piper can you eat it?" Prue asks.

"Yeah just not real fast," she replied and gave a weak smile.

"Take your time," Phoebe said knowing that Piper's stomach was still uneasy.

"I want more please," Paige said while holding out her leaf.

"Oh honey there is no more, but tomorrow morning we can have a Pop Tart," Phoebe said and Paige gave a sad face.

"She is really high right now," Prue said and after finishing her portion and taking a drink of water she went back to working on the shelter as Phoebe continued her process of starting a fire. Nothing was really dry as the rain soaked everything but the bamboo was a huge help as it was dry for the most part. She found a hand wipe in the MRE bag and realized it had alcohol on it. She let it dry out a little and it would make a great starter as she used her firestarter and after a few attempts, it took the spark.

"We have fire," Phoebe said while putting small twigs on it and let them catch before putting bigger ones on.

"Good," Prue said and Phoebe went to help her with the shelter. Night was coming once again in with it all the fears. Paige was getting very sleepy and Piper was going in and out as her fever was coming and going. Phoebe helped Paige up to the small platform she made that was only about a foot off the ground and Prue helped Piper to it. They cuddled up together and used the fur to keep them warm and cover their bodies to keep the mosquitoes off. The parachute was gone and probably down the river and the protection they got from it, was gone. Now they could only cover their heads as their legs were exposed to the biting insects. Although their pants did help keep those away from them, it was not as good as the parachute.

"Good night guys," Prue said as Phoebe was taking first watch.

"Good night," Phoebe said as she looked out over the river and could not believe they were attacked by a shark.

Back in the forest a man was looking at the shelter the sisters made and put his hand to the fire as more men walked up to him.

"They have been here," he said and the others began to look for tracks.

"Here," one said and pointed to the ground.

They all followed the path that the sisters took about seven hours ago. They were all carrying spears and blow guns and were not the friendly tribe they seen before, but the other.

To be continued…


	20. Race to the beacon

A/N:

Thanks for the reviews.

Chapter 20

Race to the beacon

It was now day 8 and they made little to no progress to the beacon. Phoebe was already awake as Prue was next. The thought of going down the river considering after what happened was not going to be an easy argument, but it was one she needed to make.

"Morning," Phoebe said while attending the fire.

"Hay Phoebe," Prue said and drank some water," How is Paige?"

"More nightmares but she seems to be ok," Phoebe replied.

"Piper?"

"I think she is getting better. You know I was checking the little book and it could have been a stomach virus or something and it sometime looks like malaria," Phoebe replied as Paige woke up.

"That's good because if it was she would be in a lot of trouble," Prue said and handed some water to Paige.

"Thanks," Paige said and sat up. Her leg was sore but did not need stitches from what they could tell.

"Once Piper gets up we need to talk about our next plan," Prue said and went to fill up the canteen so she could boil the water and then put it into the water bottles.

"I thought we were taking the river?" Phoebe asks.

"With Paige's leg like that, we will not get far and Piper is still weak," Prue replied.

"Who is still weak?" Piper asks as she sat up.

"You," Phoebe replied.

"I feel a lot better," Piper said and she at some of her color back and did not vomit all night.

"Good but we are still taking the river after we use it to clean up, because we smell," Prue said and started splashing water on herself and used some soap she found in the medicine bag. They got a good smell of themselves and could not argue with Prue on that one.

"What about the shark?" Paige asks.

"Hopefully we will not run into it again but we might want to think of some kind of defense, just in case," Prue replied and after cleaning her clothes off as well she rejoined them. Phoebe was next and then helped Piper and Prue helped Paige. After redressing wounds and putting sharp spikes all around the bottom of the raft and some on the sides, they gathered everything and got on.

They went down the water making sure to stay vigilant and keep an eye out for anything that might knock them off their raft.

"Who wants a Pop Tart?" Phoebe asks after they have been traveling for over three hours.

"Definitely," Paige replied and Phoebe cut it into four equally portioned pieces and they all ate it very quickly as they paddled down the river. What they did not know as of yet the tribe that did not like trespassers was close behind on their dugout canoes.

"Later we can have the oatmeal cookie," Phoebe said and kept her eye on the water. It was muddy and moving fast as they came to some white water.

"I think we can make it through this, just stay to the right," Prue said and they all paddled hard to keep themselves away from the rocks that were just under the surface. Prue was in the front and was giving them directions and for once sense this survival nightmare began they were working in unison. Sweat was coming out of every pore on their bodies and their muscles ached with each stroke. All of them had vine around their waist to hold up what remained of their pants because of the weight loss. Finally they came to a bend in the river and it was taking them away from the beacon that did seem much closer last night.

"Hard left!" Prue yelled and they all used their paddles to get to the shoreline. After Prue tethered the raft she helped Paige get off and then checked her wound. The bandages were working well in keeping out the infection but she had a bad limp and needed to make a makeshift crutch out of branches. Paige found some other plants that would help with keeping her blood clean and help with leeches that would cause their bites to bleed profusely, by rubbing the chewed up leaf on the bite it would stop the bleeding. They gather water but decided to keep moving as Piper was getting her energy back. The meal they had last night and the pop tart gave them hope and needed calories. As everyone was getting ready for the long hike Piper heard some rustling in the bushes to her right and she narrowed her eyes at her nemesis the turtle, but then her eyes looked up as she got a glimpse of something in the distance. She squinted and used her hand to block out the sun. It was men on canoes and they were approaching fast.

"Guys we have a problem," Piper said while pointing down the river.

"Oh god is that the bad tribe?" Phoebe asks.

"I don't want to find out, we need to go," Prue replied and they all climbed the small embankment as Piper gave one last look at the turtle.

"Thanks," she whispered as she finally came to the realization that it was not out to get her, but somehow was a warning of something else.

"What?" Paige said as Piper helped her up.

"Nothing, lets go," she replied as they finally made it on flat land. There was still dense jungle to get through and they are not good at covering their tracks.

"Wait," Prue said and ran back to the raft.

"Prue what are you doing?" Phoebe asks.

"Buying a sometime," she replied and cut the rope to the raft and pushed it out so the river would take it. "Ok lets go."

They were moving as fast as they could considering Paige's leg and the rugged terrain. Along the way Paige cut the head off a snake with her machete as it came down from a tree behind Phoebe. She did not know if it was poisonous or not, but right now her love affair with snakes was over and they were fear game in her eyes.

"Thanks," Phoebe said as it still moved on the ground despite not having a head.

The tribe leader was not fooled by the raft not being at the shoreline because they could see shoe tracks going into the forest. They got off their canoes and began the hunt.

Prue made it to a clearing and could see the beacon for the first time in daylight. She smiled as her sisters joined her.

"Look we are close," she said as they heard voices in the distance.

"And so are they," Piper said and while holding onto Paige they made a run for it.

"Come on run," Phoebe yelled as the voices were getting much closer. The people who lived in this area could move through the forest much faster than them and it was showing.

"Piper go on without me I am only slowing you down," Paige said but Piper did not reply as she made her move.

Phoebe could hear something whizzing by her and then she felt a sharp prick on her back. She stopped and pulled out a dart and then felt its poison rushed through her body as she tried to keep moving.

"Phoebe!" Piper yelled as she came up to her.

"Go they got me," she replied and could feel her legs going numb again until she could no longer walk and collapsed to the ground.

"No," Piper cried out as Prue was still running but stopped knowing that something was wrong. She turned and could see the tribe coming out of the tree line and using the blowgun's to shoot darts at them.

"Shit," Prue said as Paige was next to feel the sharp sting.

"Prue get to the beacon!" Piper yelled and pulled out the dart from Paige's neck and turned to face the tribe with her machete in hand as darts with flaying past her. Phoebe was lying on the ground and was barely moving and so was Paige. Prue knew all she had to do was break the beacon and they would be returned home at least she hoped. It took everything she had to turn her back on her family and make a run for it. She pulled out her machete as she ran to it. She could hear the tribe in the background yelling and then an ear piercing scream that came from Piper behind her, but she just kept running. What she did not know is that Piper was hit with a spear in the gut as the others chased Prue and some used knifes to kill Phoebe and Paige. Prue was now in throwing distance of the beacon and with all her might she tossed it at it. She turned to face her enemy and readied herself for a fight as a spear was flying through the air and hit her right in the chest, knocking her off her feet and flying backwards just as she could hear the shattering of glass behind her. She felt the burning pain as she went backwards but instead of landing on hard ground, she landed in the middle of the living room of the Manor. She grunted hard after hitting the floor and then immediately checked for the spear but it was gone and she had no injury.

"Prue!" Andy yelled as he came running out of the kitchen with his two daughters behind him.

"Andy," Prue said a little dazed and confused, "Where are."

Piper was next to appear in the living room and stood up while checking her stomach. Phoebe and Paige also showed up with no injuries to speak of. Prue ran to them and they all embraced as she thought they were dead.

"We are home," Piper said through tears as Leo came running down the steps.

"Piper!" he said and hugged her. Coop hearted in with their three children and they ran to Phoebe. Henry orbed in with their three children and ran to Paige. Wyatt, Chris and Mel also orbed in from school as he could sense that Piper was home. It was a huge reunion and not a dry eye in the room. Prue's children were 3 and 5. Paige's were 2, 2, 3, as Henry Junior was adopted. Phoebe's children were 3, 5, and 2. Piper's were 7, 8, and 3 years old.

"Are you ok?" Coop asks while Phoebe was holding her kids.

"Yeah but we are never going camping," she replied.

"The elders told us they sent you to the Amazon to reconnect and no matter how hard we tried, we could not find you," Leo said while holding Piper.

"Leave it to them to ruin a weekend," Piper said and kissed him. He kissed her back but then made an odd face as she smell like a boy's locker room that hasn't been cleaned in years. "Sorry honey," she said and smiled as her kids ran to her. "Oh how are my little rascals."

"Mommy your smell," Mel said while holding her nose as Piper held her.

"A hot shower, what does that feel like?" Paige said and then looked at her leg that was completely healed. "Thank god."

"Ice cold water who wants some?" Prue asks while making her way to the kitchen while holding Patty her three-year-old.

"Yes please and chocolate lots and lots of chocolate," Paige replied as they all gathered in the kitchen. The sisters sat down and were thankful to be home and alive as the kids hung on them while the men made food and drinks. They ate like it was their last meal as the kids asks them all kinds of questions about the Amazon.

"You know all the TV shows you've seen that talk about it?" Prue asks while looking at her daughter who she named Penny.

"Yes," she replied.

"They lie it much worse," Prue said while smiling at her.

"Did you see any big snakes?" Wyatt asks.

"One almost ate your Aunt," Piper replied while looking at Paige who nodded.

"Really?" Chris asks a little excited about their adventures.

"It was not fun," Paige said as she took bites of fried chicken," Oh god this is so good."

"Your Aunt Phoebe got attacked by Jaguar," Piper said and Chris's eyes lit up.

"A kitty?"

"Not quite honey," Phoebe replied and patted him on the head.

"You know the smallest thing was probably the most painful, that dam bullet ant," Prue said while rubbing her leg as she remembered the hours of pain.

Mel came walking in holding something in her hands.

"Mom dad said I had to ask you if I could keep him, can I?" she said while holding up a baby turtle.

The sisters laughed as Piper put her hand to her head.

"You and that turtle, it had it out for you," Prue said.

"Actually I think it was more like an omen, if I did not see it before we went into the forest to get to the Beacon, I would not have seen the tribe and we would have moved a lot slower getting to it," Piper replied as her daughter awaited her reply. "Sure you can keep him but you need to take care of him ok," she said and Mel smiled wide as she held the turtle close to her body.

"Its not a snapping one is it?" Phoebe asks.

"No she found it in the yard a couple of days ago," Leo replied.

"How convenient," Paige said while raising a highbrow.

"Ok I don't know what it means and I don't care, I want a shower and my bed," Piper said as she finished up her fried chicken and cold water.

It was late and after the kids drilled them for hours to tell them stories, they all headed off to their homes. But before they did Piper said they are going to have regular family dinners once a week and they all agreed. Not because they did not want to end up having to survive again, but because they did reconnect to each other as they all had to fight for life in the Amazon.

The end…

Hoped you liked the story.


	21. Update

Hay everyone

I just wanted to say I have done a movie trailer for survive or die and it is now on my website.  .com

I was thinking of doing another one for the Florida everglades but I have a lot of stories that I need to finishes first. Tell me what you think.


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